What kind of testimony should a Christian have with unbelievers?

I’m directing that question toward myself as much as toward others. A situation came up at work yesterday which caused me to ponder that question all night.

I work a secular job at a company which is run by a brother and sister who are very active in their Presbyterian church. In fact, the sister is a deaconess, but I’m not going there with this. The brother is a very kind, compassionate man who certainly displays the characteristics of a Christian. At our Christmas dinner, he praised God for what He has done for and through the company – something you won’t often hear in a corporate setting.

Well, the sister does NOT exude Christ-likeness as does her brother. She is a mean, uncaring, self-centered person and extremely hard to work for. In the year and a half I have been here, I have heard her scream at just about everyone and fire people on a whim. Yesterday, apparently she went on a screaming fit toward her brother because she refused to pay one of the men for his work last Friday all because he forgot to clock in that morning. Everyone knows he was here, yet she refused to pay him for it. (This isn’t the first time a situation like this has happened. Last time someone did that, the brother paid the wages out of his own pocket to keep the employee from leaving.)

To me, the real shame in all this is what it causes the employees to think about Christians. One of the other workers said to me, “She’s supposed to be a Christian. Well, if she makes it in Heaven, then nobody should have to go to Hell.” I hate to see supposed Christians making a bad impression like that, and it has caused me to look inward a little closer to make sure that I am being the testimony I need to be. I’ve realized that I need to be careful of not just the words I use, but also the tone of voice accompanying those words. What a wake-up call!!