The verse now open for our consideration is one we seldom hear sermonized, perhaps because the language is obscure. In the King James version it reads:

Provide things honest in the sight of all men. (KJV)

Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. (NKJV)

Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. (TLB)

         Let’s try to discover what this means in “daily speak” . . . what it means to us in Cor Unum. An illustration might help.

         When a child spends the night with a friend, and the hosting parents put a horror movie on and make popcorn and invite the children in to watch with them, the “Romans 12:17” child might have to say, “I’m not allowed to watch ‘Nightmare on Elm Street.’” Don’t you wish this were a purely hypothetical illustration?

         In the sight of our own children, when we see a $20.00 bill lying on the lawn in front of our neighbor’s house, we go to the door and inquire. Of course we know beforehand that they may say, “Yes, I did lose some money? How much did you find?” but that is no concern of ours.  It is always possible that honorable people live inside! Some parents will leave the money where it was found, with children saying, “But someone else is going to pick it up!” and right they may be, but what concern is that to us? “The money isn’t ours,” says the father.

         How many opportunities might we find this very day in Cor Unum to do things in such a way that everyone knows we are honorable?

Andreas Cruz photography