Love and faithfulness

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3-4
Love and faithfulness are listed here as being two particularly desirable character traits. Love, for God and for others, means being kind and doing for them what you would have them do for you. Faithfulness is being loyal and trustworthy. Together, they spell integrity. A person of integrity, who keeps their promises and always does what is right, will gain favour with both God and man.
People might mock you for being a Christian, but they will respect you for being consistent. What the world really can’t tolerate is people who say they are Christians and then do un-Christian things: lying, defrauding, gossipping, cheating, etc. But if you are known for being reliable, you will gain people’s trust. Once you gain their trust, they are more likely to listen to what you say concerning the gospel and salvation.
Our first priority is to have integrity before God. Ultimately, His opinion of us is the only one that matters. But there will be flow-on effects in that the people around us notice too.