Examples
"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
1 Corinthians 11:1
What we do can have a great influence on those around us.
General George Marshall was called America's foremost soldier during World War II, serving as chief of staff from 1939 to 1945, while building and directing the largest army in history. He was a 1901 graduate of Virginia Military Institute and worked his way up through the ranks to become the most powerful military architect during World War II.
After retiring from the military, he served as secretary of state from 1947 to 1949 under President Truman. He formulated the "Marshall Plan", an unprecedented program of economic and military aid to the rebuilding of Europe, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize in December 1953. But it was back in 1927 that Marshall became Assistant commandant of the Infantry School in Fort Benning, Georgia.
When he arrived, he found the fort in a generally run-down condition. Rather than use his rank as lieutenant colonel to issue orders for specific improvements, he simply got out his own paintbrushes, lawn equipment, and other tools; and went to work on his personal quarters. The other officers and men, first on his block, then throughout the fort, did the same thing, and Fort Benning was brightened up.
The life we live for Christ impacts many, having a lasting effect which could lead others to also take up their crosses.
Prayer: Ask the Lord to help you to be concious of the type of example you are setting.
"A man's life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching." ~C. H. Spurgeon