Have you ever wondered if you’ve truly made a positive impact on someone else’s life? What would happen if teaching others how to live by Christian values rested solely upon your shoulders? Imagine for a moment that you couldn’t just pull out your Bible to share God’s word. Think about what you’d say and how you guide them down this eternal path.

Thankfully we’ve been blessed with an amazing detailed outline and resource tool, the Bible. Although there are numerous traits that one should live by, perhaps the first two you’d teach them would be to worship only God, and to always be respectful. In Scripture, we’ve learned that these two characteristics were considered by Jesus to be the most important. He was asked by a scribe what commandment he believed to be the most significant, and His response was:

Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’This is the first commandment. —Mark 12:29-30

The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ’There is no other commandment greater than these.”—Mark 12:31

Worship only God: You have to do more than just attend church every Sunday to fully worship the Lord. Complete spiritual worship must be with done wholeheartedly. In addition, you must continually strive for a deeper knowledge of God’s word.

Respect: We must always treat others with respect. No one is better than someone else. We are all children of God and should be treated fairly. Everyone can add value to the world if we are open to see their gifts. Also, you must have self-respect. Our body is our temple, and we need to nurture all aspects of our mind, body and spirit.

Be Honest and Loyal: The age old saying “honesty is the best policy” is accurate. Being honest includes speaking with sincerity, integrity, and in a truthful manner. Live your life being trustworthy. Show others what it means to honor your commitments and be a person that they can completely trust. Be a real friend to someone by giving them an honest opinion when they ask you for advice. It may not always be the easiest way to answer their question, but they value this trait. It is one of the many reasons that they truly appreciate your friendship.

Be Helpful and Giving: Whether you are wealthy or poor, your financial status doesn’t factor into your ability to be unselfish. We can help one another by sharing a bit of ourselves. Some of the many ways we can lend a hand is by offering our time, our knowledge in a certain area, lending an ear to listen, or by financial assistance. All over the world there are people praying every day, and hoping to receive some sort of emotional, spiritual, or physical aid. If you aren’t already, become a volunteer and offer your hand to help someone in need.

Practice Forgiving: When someone hurts us, whether physically or emotionally, we sometimes find it difficult to forgive them. You may think, “Well, I forgive them but I won’t ever forget it.” We cannot go through life holding grudges. Instead, we must practice forgiveness with a full and open heart.

Walk the Walk: You could spend months telling someone about the characteristics that make-up the foundation of living a Christian lifestyle. But, if you talk the talk and don’t walk the walk, your words are nearly meaningless. One of the best methods to teach another is to lead by example.

One of my favorite poems is The Dash, written by Linda Ellis. It is both inspiring and eye opening. The meaning within each verse is to make the most of every moment we are here on this Earth. Yesterday, and even two hours ago, are both now just small marks in history. The intention of the poem beckons the question, “What will you do with your dash?” Try starting each morning by asking yourself “What can I accomplish today that will have a positive effect in someone else’s life?” So, if you were actually the only Bible a person ever read, make sure you’re a bestseller.

Please share your thoughts and ideas on your daily goals to help others.