If you’ve ever been over for a meal at my home, the first thing you will notice is how talented of a chef my mom is. The second notable item is that the majority of our kitchen ware is disposable: plates, table cloth, chop sticks, bowls; everything goes in the garbage afterwards with the exception of the cup and fork. We simply leave all the bones and plates and such on the table, grab the corners of the plastic table cloth (the kind you find at restaurants), wrap up the mess, and then conveniently toss it.

It’s simple.

It’s clean.

It’s good for those of us who don’t have time to wash that many dishes. (Remember, for some reason, the Chinese don’t use their dish washers. They function better as storage spaces).

But! It’s also one of the most environmentally-unfriendly things you could do on a daily basis.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, my mom is an avid recycler. She has numerous recycling bags strategically located throughout the house. She even makes rounds and checks every trash can to salvage any scrap of paper that was lazily thrown away along with the garbage by the rest of us.

Wouldn’t expect that, no? Not with our table manners. It has been like this for many years now, and I’m more than used to it, but for some reason the other day it occurred to me how conflicting the two habits are. Complete disregard for Mother Nature in one respect, devotion in another.

Any true tree hugger would shake their heads in disapproval. Any onlooker wouldn’t know what to think.

It’s the same when a dieter indulges in cake. It’s the same when a human rights activist scoffs at a street beggar. It’s the same when a regular church attendee never shares the gospel, hides his Bible on the weekdays, and is only kind to those who are kind back to him/her.

Each of these examples speaks confusion and a clouted message and asks, “How serious are they really?”

My mom doesn’t seem to really care about saving the earth. The dieter doesn’t seem to really want to lose that weight. The human rights activist doesn’t seem to really care about the helpless. The regular church attendee doesn’t seem to really care about Jesus.

It is dangerous for us as believers to be in complete disregard for Christ’s message in one respect, devotion in another. Christ asked us to live in complete abandon: to lay down our lives, pick up our crosses, and to follow after him. That means he wants our all, he wants a living sacrifice, he wants a full-time follower, not a part-timer who acts in convenience.

Because when we present a conflicting message in our actions and in our lives, we present a lie. Christ’s message was never conflicting, and his life reflected this well.

Reflect truth in your entirety; reflect truth in its entirety.

Give no one an opportunity to look at you and ask, “How serious are they really?”