What draws people’s attention to you? Might it be your loud voice? Your physical attraction? Your sharp instincts? We recall that Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1). People are going to notice us. If we do anything (even if we do nothing), people are going to notice us.
But what are we using to draw people’s attention to us? It’s not bad to draw people’s attention. You cannot live the Christian life without people noticing. Peter writes: “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12). Please observe here that the “Gentiles” observe the “good deeds” of the Christians. They observe. They notice. What draw people’s attention to you?
King Louis XIV had a duke named Duc de Lauzun who was of diminutive size, but his personality was larger than life. He engaged in rude behavior, such as sleeping with the king’s mistress. But his personality was so unpredictable that people wanted to have him around.
Our society is driven by people with personalities that are larger than life, from politics to sports. Christians should not be afraid to stand apart, to be noticed, as long as what draws people’s attention is our efforts to glorify Jesus Christ and His Gospel. That’s what Jesus did. He drew large crowds, but when He performed miracles, the Bible consistently says that the crowds praised or glorified God, rather than Jesus Himself.
We can do the same thing if we live the same way. Be busy doing good. Be busy teaching and defending the Truth of Jesus Christ. Be busy being kind, compassionate, patient, considerate – all the fruit of the Spirit – and direct the source of your difference to the Son of God.
Pablo Picasso did what he needed to keep himself and his artwork in the eyes of the public. If he felt like his artwork was getting predicable, he changed his style. It was better, in his opinion, to produce ugly artwork and be noticed than predictable artwork and be ignored.
Living a Christian life is, in our society, out of the ordinary. When you live for Christ, you draw people’s attention. Direct it to Him.
Paul Holland
