I'd Better Behave

I saw this on Facebook today and it was like a shot to the heart:

I have been struggling with this lately.

Because I live in a small-ish city (and because I have purple hair), I get recognized on a normal basis by my fellow church-goers or people who have visited our church. For example, a friend and I went shopping together (with our crazy kids) and then had lunch together (again, with our crazy kids). From place to place, we ran into many people who knew me. At lunch, she asked, "Is it like this every time you go out?"

No, it's not. But again, it's a common occurrence. End of story.

BUT because I am recognized by people that I don't even know, I have to be very careful about what I say and do in public. I have to watch my behavior...around my friends, around my kids and around people who are horribly rude at Wal-Mart and let their kid ram their shopping cart into mine, therefore upsetting my eggs and thankfully they didn't break, but man were there some nasty words on my lips....and that's as far as they got.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm 100% imperfect. I make mistakes all the time, day in and day out. But because of God's grace, I can start each day anew (and sin allllll over again). I have been working on my behavior because I want to be a Godly example, even to those I don't like.

This is something I've been preaching to some of my younger worship team members. In this era, we have social media in our midst and we are connected to it 24/7. It's so easy to post something on FB, cussing out the barista who got your drink wrong and sighed very audibly when you pointed it out. But what kind of example are you setting when you are representing Christ and saying things as that? To some, this might not be a big deal. But to me, it is.

I am constantly growing and changing as a person, mother, daughter, sister, wife, leader, co-worker, etc, etc, etc. I want to be a better person, I truly do! And only I can make that change. So, I instead wink at the mom of the kid behind the cart because I'm sure she's having a rough day and I tip the barista who got my drink wrong because I know how frustrating it is to have things pointed out to you.

Believe me, I KNOW. Piper tells me all the time how I forgot to do stuff that I had promised I would do. But hey, JACK, that's what it is like to be a mom, yup!