(17) Are You Godly, Even Under Pressure?

What if the only thing people knew about you was how you behaved under pressure? What would they think of you? Who you when things go against you is the real you. Your character isn't known until it is tested by difficulties. If people can say about you, "He's a great guy until he gets angry," or, "she's fine until you do something she doesn't like," they are revealing serious faults in your godliness.
The close of Genesis 21 is largely about Abraham's reputation. His neighbors had a sense that God was with him in all that he did (v. 22). But the text asks an important question: how would Abraham's godliness hold up when his flourishing was threatened? How does yours? The key to answering that question is your personal relationship with God, which we also learn about in this chapter.