WALKING THE WALK

We live in a day of sound bites, symbols, sayings, and shallow commitments. You rarely see someone wearing a cap or tee shirt that does not proclaim a product, a pronouncement or a political statement. Now, I do not have a big problem with such things, but I do have a problem when the person wearing such does not reflect what their symbols or words imply. If you are going to talk the talk, then you need to walk the walk.

I remember stopping at a red light and noticed the car in front of me had a bumper sticker that read, “Honk if you love Jesus!” I honked a couple of times, but the response I received was a fist shook in my direction. I thought about calling the police and reporting a stolen car. I figured that the guy driving the car could not have been the owner, since he did not acknowledge what the bumper sticker implied. Yep, I thought, that guy has stolen the car from the real owner. But I did not call the police because I regretfully came to the conclusion that in our day you certainly cannot tell a book by it’s cover, and you cannot assume that everyone who uses bumper stickers intend to live up to their message. If we expect folks to believe what we advertise, we must live up to what we advertise.

Notice what James says in James 1:22 Do what God's teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves.23 Those who hear God's teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror.24 They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like.25 But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.

By the way, did you see the championship game Thursday night between Oklahoma and Florida? I could not help but notice that Tim Tebow had “3:16” in the blacking under his eyes. Now here is a guy that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. The guys in the broadcast booth were talking about the character and sincerity of this guy. Tim is the real thing. For a 21 year old young man, he is already a symbol of what it means to be a man’s man and an humble Christian wrapped up together.

My prayer for Tim is that he will continue to put Christ first in his life regardless of all the human accolades he receives and the sports awards he garners. I know that many of you were saddened that Oklahoma did not win the game, but as a Christian how could you not have respect for a guy like Tim Tebow.

I do wonder, however, if someone from the ACLU saw the Scriptural reference under his eyes, and are preparing to protest. When the ACLU gets upset, it is usually because someone is doing the right thing. Go Tim!!

BLOG THOT: "It is ok to advertise as long as you are sold on the product."