I have the privilege of living in Charlotte, NC, the birth place of the revered evangelist, William "Billy" Franklin Graham. The local newspaper ran a story on Graham in 2014 that summarized the reasons Graham is admired by so many across the globe. One of these reasons was that Graham was a "model of decency."
I was immediately struck by the choice of the word "decency." Why not power, wisdom, influence, or bravery? For me, decency conjures up correlations to modesty and appropriateness (read: boredom!), but it must be more than that for the word to be attached to an esteemed man such as Billy Graham.
Mirriam Webster's defines decency as "polite, moral, and honest behavior and attitudes that show respect for other people." This definition ends with the most powerful part of decency - it shows respect for other people. It's not a self-absorbed, egotistical thing - it's focused on qualities that encourage life in self and others. Decency doesn't focus on rigid adherence to rules, like the pharisees mentioned in the Bible (for details, see Matthew 23). Honest behaviors don't bring life unless they are directed towards others.
Don't get me wrong - diligent following of a moral and legal system is necessary to achieve decency - but the reason for striving for decency must be for the benefit of others.
The May 18, 2014 edition of Our Daily Bread by David C. McCasland highlighted a beautiful passage of scripture in Romans 12, and he made a wise revelation about verses 6-8: We should utilize the gifts God gave us for the benefit of others, not for the benefit of ourselves. Imagine a believer incredibly blessed by God who has all the gifts listed in this passage: the gifts of prophesying, serving, teaching, giving, leading, and showing mercy. Now imagine that this person only practices these gifts on herself... only serves herself, only teaches herself, only shows mercy to herself. While ridiculous, this example shows that we must focus our gifts, our actions, and our behaviors on others. This is decency, today and always.
The purpose of this blog is to explore how to live a decent Christian life in today's society. While my perspective has been shaped by growing up in the 90s, being raised in the Southeastern United States, and having close friends from American, Indian, Hispanic, and African origins, I believe the topics addressed here will be useful to many people living in across the world.
Please reach out to me if there are topics you'd like to see addressed in this blog. I look forward to you sharing your thoughts on Decency Today as we strive to become models of gospel-filled, living for the sake of today's generations.
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