Living worthily

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Ephesians 4:1
Here is a question for all of us: are we living in a way that is worthy of our calling as Christians? Are we an example to the people around us of what a Christian should be, or do we talk the talk but fail to walk the walk? Maybe we are ‘undercover Christians’ and people around us don’t know and wouldn’t even suspect we are Christians! Is our morality fixed in stone according to the word of God, or does it change in certain situations to match that of the people we hang out with?
The third of the Ten Commandments is “you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” (Ex. 20:7, Deut. 5:11). This is referring to much more than simply using God’s name as a swear word (although we must not do that, either). It extends to us taking God’s name upon ourselves – calling ourselves ‘God’s people’, or ‘Christ-ians’ – and then failing to live in a manner that God expects from His people.
How can we call ourselves Christians and continue in a lifestyle of sin? Whether it be sexual immorality, fornication, violence, stealing, having a reputation for being a gossip or always bad-mouthing people, all of these present a bad witness to the world. If we are serious about taking the name of Christ, then let’s live in a way that is worthy of that name.