Who Are You Trying to Impress??

     I ask that of myself a lot.  Am I trying to blend in and be like everyone else?  Am I trying to change who God made me to be so that I will be accepted?  I mean, I do try to look decent when I leave the house. I do my very best to be nice to everyone I meet…even when they don’t return the favor. I try to be sure my clothes won’t embarrass my children and I’m wearing makeup so no one will think I am my children’s Grandma. But, in all sincerity, these things are done to impress someone else. I’m not saying my outwardly appearance is not important. Heaven forbid I decide it’s not and stop wearing makeup or fixing my hair!! That’s not gonna happen. And, I do admit I honestly enjoy getting my nails done and wearing a new outfit that is (hopefully) “cool”. I like it when someone says I look nice. Who doesn’t? But what about the spiritual side of me? Do I “put on makeup” to disguise the blemishes, the sin, the doubt? Do I “talk the talk” but not really “walk the walk”? Do I point out what’s wrong with everyone else and not see that blatant sin I’m flaunting for all to see? As Paul said in Ephesians, “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”. Am I just putting on the pretty parts of God’s armor and leaving the heavier stuff hanging in the closet?

     You can’t expect to be a witness to the world if you say one thing and then do another. You can’t say you’re a Christian and you love God with all your heart, and then turn around and curse like a sailor, behave crudely, or treat other people badly. What does that say about your relationship with God? Any beauty or wealth you attain in this life will not last. Beauty fades, gets wrinkly and saggy and old. Wealth cannot buy you happiness or peace or love. The ONLY thing in this life that will last is your relationship with God and the legacy you leave behind with those who know you.

     What will they say about you when you are gone? Will they say, “She was so pretty” or “She sure could party!”? Will they be glad you’re gone because of the way you treated them? Will they remember you and say, “What a sad, lonely person he was. All that money, but no happiness.” Or will they remember you as a woman/man of God… Someone that truly listened when they needed to talk, gave a good example of a Godly life,spoke kindly to everyone and treated everyone with love? I don’t want to leave behind a reputation of being a party-going, hell-raising, drinking, smoking , cussing, Good-time girl. I don’t want people to say they respect me because of all the people I trampled on to get where I was. I don’t want people to say they want to be like me because I was beautiful and said all the things they wanted to hear. I want them to look back at my life and say, “She loved God. She cared. She prayed. She listened. She was kind. She was a true Christian example.”

     If you say you’re a true Christian, BE one…ALL the time. Not just on Sunday, not just when you see someone from church. Be a true Christian with your friends, when it’s not popular, when it hurts, when you feel insecure, when no one else IS. Don’t close God off and say, “Ok God, you can be a part of every part of my life….but this part over here…well you know I like to party and, well you know I can’t help it if I curse cause everyone else does, and wow, God whatever you do don’t go looking at my profile pictures on Facebook! That is definitely off limits….but I will let you in the rest of my life God, oh well, except you know that boy I’m seeing…well yeh, don’t go there either God ok?”

     Who are you trying to impress….really? You’re friends? You’re enemies? The world? The only opinion you need to worry about is God’s. He loves you….even more than your own Mother (and that’s A LOT!). He cares about everything that happens to you. And those areas you’ve asked Him to turn His back to…well He knows about all those too. Yep, He’s seen every picture you posted on Facebook. He’s heard every curse word you ever muttered. He’s seen every sin you ever committed….and He loves you ANYWAY!

     Everyone messes up. Everyone makes mistakes. Sin is Sin to God. There’s not one worse than another. It’s all the same to Him. And, if you’ve asked Him into your life and to forgive you of your sins then He does! But that doesn’t mean we now have a free ticket to sin all we want because we are forgiven anyway! We are supposed to be leading the lost to Him, and we cannot do that if we are living just like we never got saved…. “and (as Edith Ann would put it) that’s the truth!”

“Don't cause others to stumble, whether they are Jewish, Greek, or members of God's church.”

1 Corinthians 10:32