Behavior (Conduct) 

Early on in school, my actions were poor, and they reflected my thoughts because my thoughts were ruled by selfishness and whatever I picked up from T.V., Music, and Social Media. It wasn’t until I realized that my actions were hurting others that I realized I needed to make a change. Because whether I understood it or not, my actions reflected my mother and how she raised me, and I never intended to be a bad representation of her parenting. That thought led me to think that if I don’t want to represent my mother poorly, how does God feel about how I represent Him since I am first His child. Oh, I know that hit you too just now. You’re probably gritting your teeth like, wow, I didn’t think of it like that. Well, don’t worry, I didn’t think of it like that when I was doing it either, but the good thing is when you know better, you have the opportunity to do better.

How do we do better, you ask? Well, it starts with our minds. 

Take time now and ask yourself what is the biggest influence on your actions? Next, it’s time to re-evaluate who has the biggest influence over your life. For me, it was friends, celebrities, and musicians. I would hear their words more than God’s words, so eventually, that’s what came out. Have you ever wondered why when we hear a song, not only is it easy to remember the lyrics, but sometimes you can’t get them out your head the rest of the day? It’s because our minds are powerful, but you must feed it the right thing so that the power can be used to influence greatness in your life. What if I told you that the word of God could be used just like a song? That the more you read it, you would start to remember it, and it would be on your mind all day. If you keep God’s words on your lips and in your mind, it will transform your actions. Where you would usually curse or gossip about people with your friends, now you’ll be the one that uplifts others, and your light will shine. Where you would usually sneak out or be sexually involved with your boo or boyfriend/girlfriend, you’ll now want to do what is best for you both and become abstinent. The things that God asks for us to do come by us hearing His word, studying and meditating on it, then with our actions, obeying it.