Out of place

Sitting down at my desk at work is like sitting down to work in a christian fortune-cookie factory. I've got quotes, hymns, and bible verses on little white slips of paper taped to every surface. Over here? "It is well with my soul" by Horatio Spafford. Over there? Psalm 16. There's a quote from a Randy Alcorn book just below my monitor's power button, and the song "Beautiful Savior" near my teapot. Then, over my scanner there's something completely out of place. A Japanese proverb. It reads as follows:

The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of a single hour.

I don't remember where I read it, but it really affected me, so I wrote it down. Once a few years ago, some good friends of mine were housing a church intern from the west coast. He had the misfortune of walking through - yes through - a glass door. No one forgot this his entire stay. I remember one night, some time after it happened, it came up jokingly in conversation again. This fellow cried out (laughing all the while, to his credit) "You know, I could do anything - anything - I could call down the holy spirit in power - and I would still be the 'guy who walked through the door'" He was right. This incidend gave him a reputation, and it would be with him for the rest of his life, most probably.

Fortunately, this wasn't what we'd call a 'big deal'. He walked through a door. So what. But it does illistrate what this Japanese proverb is saying: be on guard. But why? As christians there's much more at stake than our own reputations. At stake in our conduct is the glory of God.

Over and over in scripture we're cautioned to act in a certain way "to the glory of God." 1 Peter 2:11-12 encourages us to abstain from sinful indulgence so that when non-believers see us they'll give glory to God. Romans 15:5-7 tells us to accept one another just as Christ accepted us to God's glory. Matthew 5:14-16 tells us to let our light shine befor men to bring glory to God. And 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us simply:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

Over and over we're admonished to watch our actions, because if we don't, God isn't glorified.

Do you know any people who have sworn off Christianity because of the actions of people who claimed to be Christians? I know alot. I appreciate their honesty in saying that they want no part of a religion full of hypocrits. Do you see though, how the God of love can be robbed of his glory by our actions? Our character witness is a powerful thing. It is the front line of what people look to to see a reflection of God. We need to be watchful, because in the course of 1 hour, we can make an lasting impression of the God we serve. We don't want it to be distorted.