Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Download MP3 (right click to save)
My friend, Steve, was recently named a finalist for one of America's most prestigious scholarships. It's for graduate students, and it's loaded with benefits. You notice I always hang around smart people, hoping that something will rub off on me. Well, anyway, some applicants were cut on the basis of their application. So they narrowed down the group and then they invited the survivors to a party where the number would be cut to a handful who would be interviewed.
Now, the party was an interesting elimination round, which by the way Steve survived. Apparently this round was based on appearances, because all the judges did was observe how the finalists were dressed, how they conversed, how they got along with people; and how they conducted themselves. And by morning, many more had been cut and they all received the news that they had been evaluated by appearance. Whew! Man! Well, we've all been judged by our appearance, haven't we?
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What They See Is What They Get."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:22. Now, thinking about those scholarship finalists that were judged based on appearances, you'd think that there might have been someone in the group that looked great and wasn't chosen. And maybe there was someone who didn't look great and was chosen. Judging by appearance may not always be accurate, but it's pretty common.
Well, You're being judged by how things look all the time, not necessarily by how things are, but how they look. That's why the Bible gives us this very challenging imperative, and it is our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Thessalonians 5:22. Pretty simple and to the point, "Avoid all appearances of evil." Don't even look like you're doing something wrong in other words.
Now, in Romans 14:16, it's sort of a companion statement where God says this, "Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil." In other words, I think God is saying here, "Care about how you look; not only by whether what you're doing is right, but also whether it looks right." See, our world casts a very critical and even cynical eye at Christians. You know that; looking for any excuse to conclude that Christ doesn't really make any difference so they don't have to take Him seriously. They'd love to find something that looks inconsistent and hypocritical.
I know I'm watched. That means I have to avoid any action that could be construed as wrong. As a married man that means avoiding being with a woman alone even in a public place. In an adulterous world, people will just quickly jump to the worst conclusion possible. Or those innocent flirtations that you don't mean anything by, but see, that's an appearance of evil.
It affects what Christian dating couples do, even in innocence. At our house as our kids were going through their teenage years, a couple just didn't spend extended times alone. Avoiding any appearance of cheating or dishonesty - that means I make the cabby fill out my receipt instead of handing it to me so I can fill in my own amount. That's what they're used to. This covers scores of everyday choices. You ask yourself, "How will this look?" You say, "Well, that's their problem." No, as Christ's ambassador, it's your problem. You are always on Candid Camera, watched by friends, watched by critics, our family, our coworkers, our neighbors, and even those you have no idea are watching you.
Right now, people are judging our Jesus by how it looks like we are living. So, don't just settle for what looks right, but for what looks like Jesus.