Appearances Matter!

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21,22 KJV

If we care about what others think and we should--to a point--but more importantly, we should care about what God thinks about what we do. People tend to judge "what they see" without considering other factors, but God knows--our thoughts and our hearts--and certainly our intent.

With all of the uproar and media attention spotlighting --any person or place at any time--it would be the height of foolishness to attempt to do anything that is remotely wrong. Common sense--exercised far too little--needs to be exercised in all we do. Just one false move--or seemingly false move can create chaos and confusion and lead to the demise of jobs and reputations.

Why do we do it? We forget that appearances--matter to all who are looking and sometimes, those appearances, color perceptions. This is why it is important for all Believers to know that others watching us, will judge us--rightly or wrongly--and determine whether we are credible or not.

Unless The Lord directs our steps into certain venues--we should avoid them so they won't taint our testimonies. Not one Believer should ever be seen in a strip-club, a drug house, or entertaining the moguls of ungodliness in any venue.

Not one Believer should ever put themselves into a position to be falsely accused of anything--adultery, fornication, theft, mismanagement or any other thing that could deter the unbelieving from making a decision for Christ.

If we do all things--with the understanding that God sees and knows all and we care about what He thinks of us--we can avoid the pitfalls and snares that the enemy sets for us, but allowing Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and we obey.

For every foul-mouthed individual out there (and there are many), we tend to judge presumptuously, but judgment is the end result for we know that corrupt communications, corrupt good manners. A person may be a "good person" but if they cannot control their mouths--some of us will never know it.

I'm guilty of assessing situations and coming up with the wrong answers. And because of my assessments of people, I tend to stay away from certain groups because I care what God thinks about me--I'm avoiding the appearance of evil. However, I have also concluded that just because I find myself in the presence of people who do not know--how God wants them to live--I do not have to become like them in order to be a light to them. After all, it is not my job to judge people (I can judge sin as can all Believers and we should) and therefore, if I remove myself from every situation in which people are involved, I limit opportunity for God to rise in me for them to see Him.

When we're not sure of what we should do, we should seek God--prayerfully and know that He is faithful and just and will never steer us in the wrong direction. If we end up on the wrong path trying to do the right thing, we need to seek the right path and get back to where God would have us.

And here is the most important thing to remember, "If we only do the right thing, we never have to worry about doing the wrong thing."  In the greater scheme of life, appearances do matter, so we must watch what we say and do.