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- We cite this verse of the scripture when we refer to testimony and testifying of the goodness of God. The word testimony means “open verbal acknowledgment”. When it comes to what God has done for us, we should openly, verbally, acknowledge him. This not only honors God and shames the devil, it encourages others who are waiting on God for something. I have noticed, though, that in church, we do not do this properly. We often share the time allocated to us to testify, between God and man. Sometimes, after we leave the front of the congregation, most people do not remember what the actual testimony is.
- What we do
- For example, I have been to churches where people are given 3 minutes to five minutes to share their testimony. Often times, we want to start from the moment we were born, a year by year recounting of life. I have seen people spend 30 seconds thanking God and the rest of the time, thanking a list of people, as if it were the academy awards. How dare we share time allocated to testify of God’s goodness with human beings? The time to testify is not the time to thank them. You can thank God for using people on your behalf. There are other places and ways to thank those who God used to help you. For example, you can buy a card, throw a dinner, text them, call them, visit them, etc. However, the venue and the time is not the one that is earmarked to publicly thank God.
- What testimony should be
- Let’s say the Queen of England has done something for you, and you have been invited to a public event where he/she is present to thank them. I can almost guarantee that all of the allocated time will be spent not only thanking them but making sure that everyone knows in detail the awesome thing they have done for you. You want the person you are thanking to be aware that you are grateful, you want to honor them and you want everyone to know how wonderful they have been to you. You will not spend a second of that time, in front of them, thanking others. This is not because you do not care about others, but because that is not the right place and time to do so. If we can do this for humans, why do we find it difficult to do for God?
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