“So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” – Colossians 1:10, NIV

In our brief pre-wedding counseling session, the counselor turned to me and said; “As a married man, you should behave in a manner befitting of a married man.”  

That statement stuck with me. Indeed, at first I thought it was sort of irrelevant for a mature and devout Christian man like me.

Must a Christian husband behave any differently from a single Christian bachelor?

 Barely a few weeks after the wedding, I realized that the counselor was absolutely right.

In our daily life, there are certain things that society wouldn’t expect people to say or do given their status, reputation, class or position in a particularly community or society.

If you belong to a certain class or you have achieved a certain status, there are certain boundaries that society does not expect you to cross.

That was the context of the verse in our meditation today, which the apostle Paul wrote to the “saints and faithful brethren in Christ” in Colossae (see verse 2).

The adverb ‘worthily’ denotes someone being or doing something in a manner befitting of or that a certain status deserves.

The implication is that the “saints and faithful brethren in Christ” should live their lives in a manner that reflects the values, principles, and teachings of that noble status.

“To live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”

1 Thessalonians 2:12

Their daily lives should be consistent, showing credibility and in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ – basically consistently demonstrating virtues such as love, humility, compassion, and integrity.

Their value systems, beliefs and convictions had to be reflected in their actions and behaviour at home, at the workplace, in the community, at school or on social media.

In brief, there should be no contradictions between their outer way of life and their inner belief system.

As the old hymn says; “They are watching you, marking all you do.”

In 1 Thessalonians 2:12, the same apostle tells the brethren that they “would walk worthy of God, who has called you to His kingdom and glory.”

I like how the Amplified Bible puts it: “To live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”

In Ephesians 4:1, he beseeches the brethren to walk worthy of the calling to which we have been called: “So I…appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behaviour—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation]” (Amplified Version).

Of course I can almost hear someone shout that such a life can only be idealistic at best and more so in this our generation.

However, let us be reminded of the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 10:38: “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

The implication in that is that those who will be glorified with Christ in His kingdom are those who have the moral courage to suffer for the values and principles they believe in.

Like someone aptly put it; “If you can’t stand for anything, you will fall for anything.”

We were not called to fit in; we were called to stand out!