Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

~1 John 2:6 NLT

“We won’t see anyone here we know,” I remarked to my wife.

Not that I wanted to do anything that would shame me. It’s just that everywhere my wife and I go, we seem to run into someone we know. But we were now in Savannah, Georgia. Two friends of ours had taken us on an overnight trip, all expenses paid. My wife had not visited Savannah since she was three years old, and I had not paid a visit in seventeen years.

After spending the night on nearby Tybee Island, eating breakfast there the next morning, and visiting a local lighthouse, we made our way to Savannah. We visited Bonaventure Cemetery and then made our way to River Street where we planned to walk the Factor Walk.

No sooner had we started than we saw a couple waving at us. Sure enough, we knew them. They were friends from a previous church where we had once attended.

“What’s the chance of that happening?” I asked my wife after our brief conversation with them.

Then I texted Mom and told her. Her response? “Always be on your best behavior.” I guess a child never gets too old to receive good advice from a parent.

The same holds true when the advice comes from God. Through John, the oldest living apostle, God reminds us we should always live our lives as Jesus did.

Jesus always followed the plan of His heavenly Father, never wavering even a little bit. He imitated the Father, telling others He always did what the Father did and that He always spoke as the Father spoke.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.

~Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Being our best also entails monitoring our physical and spiritual health. Our bodies are temples of God’s Spirit, so it matters what we put in them. God has plans for His children and a time frame for them to accomplish them in. Ruining our physical health with addictive substances or with too much of any good thing—play toys and busyness included—can shortcut God’s plan. Forgetting to engage in spiritual disciplines—or just doing them on a sporadic basis—makes us spiritually unhealthy and prevents us from being our best.

When we’re on our best behavior, we’ll handle God’s truth correctly. When we do, we’ll live it out daily in our thoughts, emotions, actions, and words. And even if we don’t run into anyone we know, God will be pleased.

Wherever you are, be on your best spiritual behavior.

How has being on your best spiritual behavior encouraged friends or family to do the same?

Father God, help me to be on my best behavior, wherever I am.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2022: Be Your Best: Martin Wiles: All Rights Reserved