Shining as Stars

Today I was thinking about the image that the Christian should give off to the world around them and I was reminded of these verses, which I found very convicting. "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..." Philipians 2:14-15

I think that some of the easiest things to fall into, even for Christians, are complaining and arguing. I know I struggle with these a lot. And the may seem like small things to worry about compared to other sin problems, but they can ruin a Christian's testimony just as easily as anything else. It is certain that the world is always watching and waiting for the Christian to slip up; nothing goes unnoticed or without criticism. So if a Christian shows humility through not complaining and arguing, an unconverted person notices this right away because it is so completely different from what the world is used to. They may begin to wonder what this Christian has that makes them respond so differently from the way the rest of the world would. "Shining like stars" is a powerful term, but in overcoming these two little traps of complaining and arguing there also lies a powerful witness that could open up an opportunity to "hold out the word of life."