The other day, I was out at our community dock and someone from the community said to me, “I really like your shirt.”
What they were talking about was what was written on the shirt: “New England Patriots.” I quickly responded that I didn’t even like the Patriots and had just taken the shirt out of my closet and put it on to go fishing. I don’t even know where the shirt came from — possibly from my son or grandkids who left it there, or maybe my wife bought it at a yard sale. Either way, I didn’t wear it because I liked what was written on it.
As I thought about this, I realized that others are watching us. We are sending out a message whether we plan to or not.
It doesn’t have to be something written on our clothes, even though this matters. It could be something written on our faces. For instance, if we always go around with a frown on our faces, we let others know that life it not a joy.
The Scriptures talk a lot about one of the attributes of a Christian being this thing called joy. Whether things are going well in our lives or not, we still can possess joy. When we go along with our heads hanging low, it lets others know that we are depressed or lack confidence in a bright future. As Christians, we have every reason to walk with our heads held high, because we are children of a king and our heavenly father always offers us hope. We have the privilege of being able to live the best life on this Earth and the hope of eternal life, which is far beyond what we can imagine.
So, when others see you what are they reading — a message of hope or despair?