In Philippians 2:14-15, the Apostle Paul commanded, “Do all things without complaining and disputing…” for the purpose that we “may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom [we] shine as lights in the world…” Therefore, it is not enough to be “children of God.” We must be “without fault”, and this is only true if we are “blameless and harmless.” Surely, when we do so, we will make a positive impact upon society today.
To be blameless means “free of guilt or free from fault.” This does not mean we are sinless, because we all sin (Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:8). It means that we live in such a way that those who oppose us have “nothing evil to say of us” (Tit. 2:6-8), because nothing hinders our efforts to influence others like inconsistency or hypocrisy (Luke 6:41-42). Therefore, we must practice what we preach! If we are not blameless in what we say and do, than those who oppose us will quickly find fault in our attitudes and character, and they will use that as justification to reject the message that we preach.
To be harmless means “without mixture of evil and innocent” When met with opposition, it means that we must be free from any suspicion of evil (Rom. 16:19) and live in such a way that we commend the gospel of Christ, not bring shame to it (Matt. 10:16). Therefore, we must react to evil the way God commanded, not with evil but with acts of love. That is how we OVERCOME evil (Rom. 12:17-21). Truly, if we are going to be as harmless as doves, we must love our enemies the way Jesus taught us, with an “active good will.” Consequently, this is how we demonstrate ourselves to be “sons of the Most High!” (Luke 27-36).
The challenge we face today is that we are so disgusted by evil, so we are tempted to respond in ways that is not is step with the gospel of Christ. If our ultimate goal is changing hearts, then it must be done the way God has changed our own hearts, through the gospel of love, sacrifice, and mercy! By following in steps of our Savior, we will truly be “blameless and harmless,” and “shine as lights in the world!” It is only then that we can impact society effectively.
-John Garza