As Seen on TV

Have you ever been awake late at night and watched after hours television?  All the infomercials and advertisements seem comical to me.  

For example, they show someone trying to pour milk into cereal, but it’s too hard.  The milk goes everywhere like a tidal wave crashing into the shore, and they are left making a frowny face because of the disaster and necessary cleanup.  But you’re in luck!  They are selling a device that you can put on the opening of a milk carton and get perfect pours every time. But wait, if you act now you will get 2 for the price of one!  Now you’ll be able to pour anything from a bottle without spilling again. 

Tools, kitchen utensils, diet pills, exercise equipment, etc.  They all have something that they claim that we cannot live without.  Have you ever gotten one of those ‘As Seen on TV’ products?  They don’t always work like they do on TV.  Sometimes it’s a big letdown.  The actual product falls short of the claims. 

Apply this thinking to the Christian faith as it’s seen by those that stand on the outside looking in.  They are told by Christians of the wonderous grace of Jesus, what He has done for us, and how everything changes once we meet Him as our Lord and Savior.  Just like those infomercials, it sounds too good to be true.  So, they start looking for evidence…and what do they see?

Christians that go to church and may even wear Christian T-shirts, but their lives look too similar to those of the world.  We act the same at ballgames, get divorced just as often, seem just as insecure (by how self-promoting we are in conversations and our grandiose social media “look at me, I’m awesome” posts), struggle with debt and overspending, and the list goes on and on.  Just like the disappointment of receiving an overrated ‘As Seen on TV’ product, they look at us as an over exaggeration of the benefits of the Christian Life.  If we don’t look or live different than them, what’s the benefit for them in jumping in?

We must understand that our conduct matters.  The way we talk, act, approach life, discipline our children, cheer on our kids at games all matter in the great work that God has called us to: go and make disciples.  Take a moment to read Philippians 2:14-18.  Paul calls us, by our conduct, to shine like stars in the universe.  What did stars do in Paul’s time? They were used as a cosmic map that pointed the people of the ancient world to something else. 

In the same way, our lives are to be used by God to point people to Him.  As we wrap up, I want you to process through a couple of questions: What is your life pointing people to right now?  What needs to change to point people to Jesus?