“Image is Everything”
By Pastor Lee
Recently, Sports Illustrated stirred up controversy with an online article that considered Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs (and yes, I admit that I am rooting for this team), this year’s NBA Most Valuable Player, as one of the most boring athletes. It seems some sports writers prefer ‘entertaining’ athletes like former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson who admitted that he would like to attack the woman that had previously accused him of such immoral behavior and assault. Fortunately a vast amount of readers responded to that ludicrous article and shamed the staff for even raising such a criticism of an otherwise outstanding athlete and model citizen in Tim Duncan.
Unfortunately, our culture has adopted the ‘Image is Everything’ standard. A recent Barna Research Group opinion poll (December 2002) ask people who do not consider themselves Christians to provide their impressions of eleven groups. “The only group that received a ‘favorable’ opinion from a majority (56%) of the non-Christian individuals was ‘military officer.” Democrats, real estate agents, actors, lawyers, Republicans, and lesbians rated higher than evangelicals. The analysis concludes, “In terms of the actual positive and negative percentages awarded to different groups, the study points out that less than half of the non-Christian public has a favorable impression of any of the three religious groups. Just 44% have positive views of clergy, only one-third (32%) have a positive impression of born again Christians and just one-fifth (22%) have a positive view of evangelicals. …The image of "evangelicals" rated tenth out of eleven groups evaluated, beating out only prostitutes.
We should be glad that such opinions do not count at heaven’s gate! Let’s find some encouragement and perspective from Philippians 1:6-10. The God who saves us has started a ‘makeover’ of our image. Unlike others might judge superficially and wonder ‘what is the use of trying to improve an image that is ruined and of no use or appeal’? We can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
While we commendably pray for the health and concerns of others or ourselves that are temporal in nature, Paul focuses prayer on what can reap eternal dividends. He prays that our love for others, including those that do not yet know Christ as Savior, may abound. That love is balanced by real knowledge for real life. With all the fascination with reality TV shows, those are still entertainment and not real life. Real knowledge is more than facts and skills learned in schools. It includes information and instruction to help us have a successful life in God’s view. Such knowledge should develop better insight for living so that a person can choose what is best for his image or testimony.
Knowledge alone does not guarantee success. Despite outstanding intellect, wealth, power or fame, a person can make dumb decisions. For instance, Michael Pittman, the running back of 2002 Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Bucs, was recently arrested and indicted for aggravated assault. He had rammed his vehicle into a car carrying his wife and young son. Sammy Sosa, the powerful homerun hitter for the Chicago Cubs, was suspended for several baseball games for using an illegal bat containing cork. These individuals make a lot of money and know their sport well, but their current images are damaged.
Though young people graduate from high school or college, regardless of its prestigious name, they still can make dumb decisions. Parents wonder whether their brilliant children will make bad choices away from home and familiar friends. Knowledge is no good if one doesn’t use common sense or discernment. This is why Paul also prays that we may abound more in depth of insight and discern what is best. He wants us to be pure and blameless. That’s an image that testifies to the power of Christ to change lives for the better.
Don’t blame the world for its perception of Christians. We should readily admit that we are not perfect. We should set aside a proud attitude. We are sinners that have been forgiven and saved by faith in Christ. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement and God is working on that! So be gracious. Also realize that the world has been blinded by a satanic veil that falsely accuses and belittles Christians but not people of other faiths. Why target Christians? Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19, NIV)
So pray for one another: that our love may abound, that our knowledge of God and His Word abound, and that our discernment abound to choose what is best. May we have a pure and blameless image so that Jesus Christ is glorified.