What AM I supposed to look like??

I can get very confused about what I am supposed to look like.  While it’s easy to say I’m not supposed to look like the world (“Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed, by the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2), that I am supposed to look different and set apart, it is confusing to know where that line lies that sets me too far apart from the world, the line where I am not able to minister as I should.   If I am considered a “weirdo” (hush!) then I won’t be able to lead others or point them to the Way.  Where do I draw this invisible line of “setting myself apart?  ”Too ‘much’ world leaves me ineffective, but, yet, so does too ‘little’! 

There is certainly no doubt that this invisible line cannot, MUST not, be drawn and colored with sin.  Oh, I will sin, that is promised, but deliberate, intentional, habitual sin is not what a Christian is to look like.  If you look at me and see blaring sin, I am failing terribly in my attempts to be Christ-like.  He, of course, was sinless and if I am striving to look like Him, you will not notice my sin at first glance.  The two simply do not go hand-in-hand.

Another thing I would not want jumping out when you first look at me is my occupation.  I am in this world to do one thing and that is to point you toward the world beyond it.  Unless my chosen occupation is being a full time minister, if you meet me and see only my occupation, I am not doing a very good job of looking different.  The one person who has probably been the greatest example to me of this was Jesse Pinckley.  When I first met Mr. Pinckley, he was not only my college roommate’s dad, but the Mayor….the MAYOR…of Huntingdon, TN.  I had never so much as met a mayor of any city or town, much less spent the night in their home!  But if you knew Jesse Pinckley, you knew that being the Mayor was not at the top of his priority list.  He was a great dad, friend, husband, business partner, employee, but, more than that, he was one of the most loving Christians I have ever met on this earth.  Love oozed out of him, kindness was written on his face, and his giving spirit continued throughout his entire life and even after his death. 

I can get so caught up in family…they are “bone-of-my-bone” and “flesh-of-my-flesh”…but you should not see only my family when you look at me.  I must be recognized as being more that “Monica’s mom” or “Mark’s wife” or “Helen’s daughter”.  I also need not get so caught up in friends or hobbies or sports that one of those ends up being what I am known for.

You must see Christ in me first.  It has been said, “Whatever you worship will become your god.”  While we are quick to agree with this statement when it is a sin overtaking someone, we sometimes don’t see it as easily when we are worshipping our occupation, family, hobbies, sports, or anything else that stands between ourselves and God.  Colossians 3:2-2 states, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”   From this the conclusion is drawn that if I am in Christ, looking like Christ, acting Christ-like, hidden in Christ, that I will also be hidden in God.  And we all know what God looks like.  Not that we have seen Him with our eyes, but if we make a habit of seeking Him, we have seen Him with our hearts.  Our Christ-like hearts recognize God immediately.  1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 

That is my total and complete answer to the question, “what am I supposed to look like?” I am supposed to look like LOVE. You should immediately see it when you meet me, think of it when you think of me, and want it when you see me wearing it.  It is so simple, yet, even if I am able to squeeze into it, I cannot always wear it all day long.  It can be so fleeting that I am not even aware when it has been replaced.  Yet I continue to strive to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding” (I Cor. 15:58) in God, I know that I must watch to make sure that when it leaves I quickly put it back on (“Above all things clothe yourself with LOVE which binds us in perfect harmony.” Col. 3:14 ).   As I set goals for the coming year, first and foremost, is the goal of looking like love…clothing myself with it and wearing it until it is so comfortable, that I am uncomfortable when I take it off!

Roberta Pledge

12/27/11

SILENCE IS (NOT ALWAYS) GOLDEN...

Spending almost a month with extreme hoarseness, including two weeks of trying not to talk at all, gave me a whole different way to look at “be careful what you pray for.”  I had been walking around with “keep your mouth shut!” written on my hand for three days just prior to my condition and I was right in the middle of trying to take to heart James 1:26 (if you think you are religious and can’t keep your mouth shut, you are deceiving yourself and are useless).  When others would ask me what was wrong, I would whisper “James 1:26”!

The thing I missed the most, of course, was teaching my 3 year olds on Sunday morning.  Last Sunday was my first Sunday back and I quickly remembered why I had missed them.  It was a fiasco of a class with one coming in crying and a large class of eight, but they were still such a joy to teach.  The highlight of the class was the funny thing that happened just before the prayer.  It was a true test of using a teaching moment and not saying the wrong thing.  One of my Princes stated, totally stone-faced and simply sharing information, “It’s gonna be stinkin’ during this prayer because I just pooted.”  I simply said, as I stifled the hilarity of the moment, “there are some things we keep quiet about and don’t share with others and that is one of them,” and continued with our prayer song.  Possibly a test to see how much I had learned in my month of silence!

I do not make a secret of struggling to control my tongue….there is simply no reason to…that way others help me and tell me when I need to keep quiet.  I try to constantly look at myself and make changes, although I certainly wish that I could learn this lesson and be done with it!

LOOKING AT MYSELF

I should take a moment, if I’m looking at your flaws,

I should take a moment, to see my own because…

If I’m taking time to look at all the qualities you lack,

I’m just passing by my mirror and never looking back.

If I hear things about you, that I don’t think are right,

I shouldn’t stand and judge you, or let it lead us to a fight.

If I find myself about to say something better left unsaid,

I need to stop and think, or say something nice instead.

For life is way too short to watch how others play their cards,

And time is better spent cleaning our own backyards,

For there is truly only one over which we have control,

And working on ourself, alone, can be a fulltime goal.

So the next time you are tempted to try to change another,

Remember they are just like you and treat them as a brother.

Spend some time in prayer for them, let them know you care.

Try to show Christ’s love to them, and as a friend be there.

Roberta Pledge

12/8/11