What if... somebody, unknown to you, had secretly placed a hidden camera & microphone on your clothing and recorded everything you did and every word you said for a 24 hour period...
Then, smiliar to American Idol, showed the recording on television and allowed viewers to text in their votes to determine whether or not you display Christian character. What do think the majority vote would be?
I got asked a question today that got me thinking about the impression & message we as Christians send out to the rest of the world through our daily actions. The question was… “Can Christians curse (or cuss)?"
Sure we can. Christians can swear. Christians can lie. Christians can steal. Christians can cheat. Christians can do or say pretty much whatever we want. We're still free-willed beings. We're still human. And some do. I have. Does that mean we should? No, of course not.
Athletes are typically ultra-competitive and tend to push themselves harder both physically and mentally than non-athletes and because of that, the slightest mistake in a game can often elicit a burst of self-anger, frustration and sometimes the occasional “$#!%@!&!” Uh oh, is it the end of the world? Of course not. Should we just shrug it off as if it doesn't matter. No.
Recognizing that it was an unintentional "oops!” moment and making a conscious effort to avoid repeating it is what we, as Christians, should do. Scripture is full of verses telling believers to maintain clean mouths and to watch what comes out of our mouths. Are there occasional slip-ups? Sure. However, even the unintentional slip, no matter how accidental, sends out an impression that represents our Christian character (representing Christ) to those around us.
We should give serious thought to the “ways and appearances of the world” and whether we as Christians, should seek to try and blend into that world… or as Christians, realize that we have been chosen and set apart and we should be a light unto that world.
4:13
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