Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits. 1 Peter 2:12

Recently my family decided to purchase a used car for my eldest child. She had a very particular idea of what she wanted, so we were scouring a large section of the country to find that car at a good price and in good condition. Finally, we found one, but it was four hours away. That’s a really long way to drive based on a few pictures, so we contacted the dealership to get more information. 

Now, in the United States, car salesmen have a certain reputation, particularly when it comes to selling used cars. They’re frequently thought to be misleading at best and downright deceitful at worst. 
Color me surprised when the person we communicated with was the least smarmy car salesman I’ve ever encountered. He went above and beyond to show us extra pictures of the car and even made sure to point out one particular feature that we wouldn’t have known to ask about – a large decal the previous owner had put on the car’s roof. He even worked with us to have the ugly decal removed after we put a deposit down to save the car until we could get up there. 

Great conduct

I’ve been a part of a few car purchases and the salesman always seems to be out to try to get you to purchase an upgrade package or extended warranty or extra key or something. None of that was happening with this guy and we arrived at the dealership with the pleasant expectation that this was going to be a car purchase that didn’t feel gross. 

Once we confirmed our intention to buy the car, though, we were handed off. Our pleasant, helpful contact wasn’t the guy who handled the actual sale. He just showed people the cars. We still had to sit in an office and listen to the hard sell of a warranty package that cost almost as much as the car. 
I think a lot of non-believers, or even believers that have been away from church for a while, can see us Christians like that. There’s a bright smile and free pizza to get them in the door, but then, once they’re inside, it looks just as petty, just as divided, just as power-centric as the rest of the world. 

When Peter tells believers to conduct themselves honorably, I don’t think he’s only referring to the way a Christian treats a non-Christian. Especially in this world of social media, people get a front row seat to how Christians treat other Christians as well. Earlier in the chapter there’s a verse about ridding ourselves of all malice and slander and hypocrisy and envy. (1 Peter 2:1)

Telling conduct

The way we conduct ourselves says as much, and honestly probably more, than our words. People watch how we treat other believers. They observe how we build our families and friendships and businesses. They listen to how we talk about those we disagree with. Recently I’ve felt challenged to give more attention to the way I’m conducting myself. If someone encounters me online, whether it’s a post on my own account or a comment on someone else’s, does that match the person they talk to at the local coffee shop or on Sunday morning? If I teach something in a Bible Study and one of the attendees sees me a week later at my kid’s competition, does my conduct match what I taught? 

There’s a lot of sayings about the way actions speak louder than words, and, as Christians, we need to remember that. Showing Christ to a non-believing world is difficult enough. We don’t need our own conduct getting in our way.