It Matters

What’s on your mind lately? Politics, money, food, ballgames, church, cars, God…what is it?

I guess blogging is all about weighing in and then shouting out your two-cents. So here’s my shout for the day.

For far too long now in our culture—Christianity as a whole has been looked upon with great suspicion as being illegitimate because of a lot of talk mixed with little walk. For the last three decades many Americans have had enough of “Sunday Christians, plastic Christians, closet Christians, and preachers who pointed their fingers and yelled about hell, fire, and brimstone, but failed to live up to their own words.

The word hypocrisy became commonplace in the vocabulary of many and was used to denounce Christians and the Christian faith. Society basically turned away from community churches because, although we talked a good game, we talked way too much smack but didn’t do jack and therefore lost enormous credibility.

But in the midst of all that, God was still at work, changing lives. He's been grabbing hold of common, everyday kinds of people and pastors and church leaders who really cared about walking the walk. And today, at the end of the first decade of the new millennium, I think we are on the verge of reclaiming—at least some of what was previously lost because of the hypocritical nature of God’s church.

My two-cents is just this: I question if we, Christ followers, really understand that the way we live our daily lives; the journey we tell others we are on with God has more impact on culture than we might ever believe.

So, I wonder about the “get it’ factor, because sometimes I think we’re oblivious or indifferent to the influence we really exert. In the estimation of Jesus Christ, it’s particularly crucial that we choose to represent God well to the world, if we ever have the hope of reaching them with the message of true life. Representing Him well is about taking the new life God put inside of you…and turning it inside-out so others can have the best seats in the house to see what He is all about.

Understanding that it matters to God what those at work think of you is on the money. It matters to God what your family thinks of you. It matters to God what your neighbors or your waitress, or your boss, or employees, or that new Christian thinks of you! Ultimately, it should matter to you what God thinks of you.

And this is exactly the reason why God placed His Spirit inside of you…so you and I can represent Him extremely well on this blue planet we call earth.

Isn't it time for all of us to step up and become in character, the person God has enabled you to be.


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