Live the Life You Preach
Let’s be honest, sometimes the Bible will call you out and stop you in your tracks. That’s exactly what happened when I was reading Galatians 2:14–15 the other day. Paul didn’t hold back, he straight-up called Peter out for being a hypocrite. Peter had no problem eating with the Gentiles until the Jewish believers showed up, and then suddenly he was acting brand new, like he’d never sat with them at all. And Paul was like, “Hold up, if you’re living like a Gentile, how are you going to turn around and expect them to live like Jews?”
It really made me think, because honestly, that’s us too sometimes.
We post about Jesus. We tell people to trust God. We talk about grace and truth and light. But behind closed doors, our lives don’t always line up. We’re saying one thing but living something totally different. And the people around us notice that. Especially our kids.
Because it’s not just the world watching how we live, our children are watching too. If I’m constantly preaching to my kids, reading Scripture out loud, telling them how important it is to love others, trust God, forgive people, but then I live with bitterness, gossip, stress, or pride, what do you think they’re actually going to follow? Not what I say. What I do.
That part really hits home for me because I’ve had moments in my own house where my actions didn’t line up with my words, and it showed up in how my kids responded. The reality is, we can’t expect our children to live godly lives if we’re not modeling that for them. I’m not saying we have to be perfect, but we do need to be real. Real about our struggles. Real about what repentance looks like. Real about trying to live this out every day, even when it’s hard. They’re learning more from what we do than what we say.
We can’t be Christians in words only. We have to live it.
This doesn’t mean we won’t mess up. We’re human. We’re going to fall short. But that’s where grace and humility come in. That’s where we go back to God and let our kids see what it looks like to repent, to grow, to keep walking even when we stumble. That’s the kind of real example they need.
And the same goes for everyone around us. Friends, coworkers, strangers online. If we say we follow Jesus, then people should be able to see that in the way we live, not just hear it in what we post.
I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve had seasons where I looked more like the world than Christ. Times when I let my emotions lead instead of the Holy Spirit. Times when I compromised truth to keep the peace or stayed quiet because I was afraid of what people might think. But God in His mercy keeps drawing me back. And He’s been reminding me lately, especially as I raise my kids, that living the life I preach matters more than anything I could ever say.
Because people don’t just need to hear about Jesus. They need to see Him in us.
Lord, help me walk this thing out for real. I don’t want to just say I follow You; I want my life to reflect it. Show me where my words and actions don’t match. Convict me gently. Remind me that the people closest to me, especially my kids, are learning from what I live more than what I say. Help me to live in truth, love, and integrity, not perfectly, but honestly. In Jesus’ name, amen.
