Articles
The Day Jesus Looked Bad
When Jesus was crucified, He looked bad. Isaiah 52:14 says, "So His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." The word "visage" refers to Jesus' appearance. Simply put, by the time His tormenters were through slapping Him around, slashing His back and nailing Him to a cross, Jesus was a mangled mess. It's not hard to even imagine His face being distorted. He looked bad.
Most of us recoil at such a picture and likely it was that picture of Him that melted our hearts and moved us to bring our sins to Him, have them washed away and enter into the family of God. But this is not the only day that Jesus looks bad.
Jesus looks bad in the eyes of the world, when a professed Christian leaves the Lord to go back into the world of sin. In fact, when someone does that, it is the same as crucifying Him all over again. This is the point of the writer of Hebrews when he says, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrews 6:4-6). The world is always watching the Christian.
They wonder if they too should consider coming to Christ. They wonder if He can make a difference in their lives. They look for the power. And then they see someone they know who is a Christian, leave it all to go back into sinful living. On that day, Christ looks bad. Sure, they ought to look at all the faithful Christians but they are often focused on the one person they know best. That one makes Christ looks so bad and great harm is done.
Do we realize that any time we live inconsistent with the teachings of our Lord, it is another day when Jesus looks bad? Christians are called by God to live godly lives that are upright and filled with integrity. Of course, we will make mistakes and sin but it is crucial that people see us as "the real deal" - my way of saying that we are genuinely striving to be like Him and when we fail it breaks our heart. Let us consider a few other days Jesus looks bad.
He Looks Bad On The Day You Are A Slacker At Work
Christians should be the greatest workers on the planet. Why? Because we show up at work understanding that we work for Christ. We work with "sincerity of heart, as to Christ" and we do work "as to the Lord and not to men" (Ephesians 6:6-7). This will mean working hard at all times and not sloughing off when the boss isn't looking. It will mean being honest with our employers and customers. It will mean not taking things from the office that will never be missed. Why is this so important? It is so that we may "adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things" (Titus 2:9-10). If such behavior at work makes the Savior look attractive, what does being a slacker do? Is it not another day when Jesus looks bad?
He Looks Bad When You Don't Pay Your Debts
Romans 13:8 says, "Owe no one anything except to love one another." This does not mean it is wrong to have credit. When we pay our bills on time, our creditors do not feel "owed". But what about when a disciple of Jesus, leaves a man "holding the bag" waiting for him to pay what he owes? I remember once hearing of a business owner who said his worst paying customers were Christians. I don't know who they were but can you imagine them having great success if they ever approached him to talk to him about Jesus. Is this how followers of Jesus do business? It's another day when Jesus looks bad. Sure, circumstances or crises can arise which make a man unable to pay on the day appointed. A disciple of Jesus will explain such situations to his creditors and make arrangements to settle the debt. We must not mar the Lord with bad credit. It matters.
He Looks Bad When You Don't Keep Your Marriage Vows
The marriage of two Christians is to be a display to the world of the relationship of "Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:22-33). It should be a display of love and harmony and selfless dedication. Our friends, who are outside of Christ, need to see the wonderful marriages that Christ can build. And He does!! But what do they see when they see a Christian disregarding his marriage vows, cheating on his spouse and heading to the courthouse to break into "two" what God has made "one"? Is it not a day when Christ looks bad. God says that He hates divorce for what it does to our mates and warns us to watch out for such a spirit (Malachi 2:14-16). My heart goes out to those who have been hurt by unfaithful partners. You can see the hurt in their eyes. Worse yet, is the hurt in the eyes of the Master as He watches it all unfold.
He Looks Bad The Day You Take Your Brother In Christ To Court
We are in a suing society. Worldly wisdom would say that when you feel taken advantage of by a brother, just take him to court. Sue him!! God says otherwise. He says, "But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers" (1 Corinthians 6:6)! He says it would be better to just accept wrong. Why would God say this? It's because we are always being watched by unbelievers. When we drag each other into the courtroom, we drag Christ into the courtroom and He looks bad. Unbelievers say, "These two are Christians?" How effective would we be, after the judges' gavel is dropped, teaching them about brotherly love and peace found in Christ?
Many other examples could be given but the bottom line is that Christians must live attractive lives. Oh, there is plenty of talk. What we need is more walk. A good lesson is learned from the Jews. Under the old order, they were God's people. But many of them said one thing and did another. What effect did it have? Paul told them, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you" (Romans 2:17-24). How tragic. Let us instead do as Jesus said. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Let's help people to see Jesus in all of His splendor!
