By Danny Minton

An official of a Mission Board, who knew that it takes more than desire to make a missionary, was appointed to examine a candidate. He told the young man to come to his house at six in the morning. The young man went to be examined at six in the morning, and the examiner kept him sitting in the room until ten. Then he went down to him and said abruptly, “Can you spell? Can you spell God?” “Yes, sir,” came the answer calmly. “Can you write your name? Do you know what your name is?” “Yes, sir,” again he replied. He put him through a series of questions of that kind and then went to the Missionary Board and said, “He will do. I tried his patience for four hours, and he did not break down. I then insulted him, and he did not lose his temper. He will do.” That is the way to prove Christianity. If a man answers all abuses with patience, fortitude, and a gentleness that cannot be altered, depend upon it, Christ’s love has conquered his heart. The Christianity that has molded the quality of his character frees him from any criticism by others. Such a Christian causes men to say, “Well, after all, you’ve got to say something for a religion that produces a man like that.” (Source Unknown)

How would you react if you were in the situation the young man in the story found himself in? Would you have the patience to sit calmly for four hours? Would you quietly stand by and allow someone to insult your intelligence without commenting back with a witty remark? Would you be able to keep the attitude of Christ when finding yourself in a  stressful situation?

In the first verse of his poem “If,” Rudyard Kipling wrote, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,  And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise.” He ends the poem with, “ Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”

One of the most difficult things for Christians is to have the balance of answering the challenges of life in a Christlike manner. The lessons Jesus teaches us are often hard to accomplish during trying times. How can we love our enemies when they are killing our brothers and sisters around the world? How can we let God be the judge when we see people we believe are in the wrong? How can we hold our tongue when being insulted for our beliefs? How can we stand up for Jesus and at the same time exhibit his love for those against us?

The answer is to remember where our focus should be. In most situations, we think more about ourselves and what we are going through than Christ and how he would handle the situation. Our emotions trump our desire to be like Christ. Turning our focus from ourselves to what Christ taught changes our attitude about where we find ourselves. Paul wrote to the Philippians, “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV2011)

Next time you find yourself in a situation where your character is challenged, stop and breathe. Then, ask yourself how Jesus would react if he were in your shoes. When we live like Christ, He might take the last line of Kipling’s poem and have it read, “ Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a True Christian, my child!”

Danny Minton is a former Elder and minister at Southern Hills Church of Christ