So recently I got a bad haircut. (No, there will not be pictures, we aren't documenting this moment in time.).
I'd gone to my usual spot, but something was off---the beautician seemed rushed and distracted. I tried to ignore it until she said I was finished and my reflection in the mirror looked nothing like the picture I'd given her.
Almost immediately I felt a mixture of panic and anger rising in my chest. It was taking every bit of Holy Spirit power inside of me to keep from spewing out words like: "What have you done to my hair? How could you do such a bad job? Why couldn't you slow down and pay attention? You expect me to pay for this?"
Thankfully, these and other unkinder things did not come out of my mouth. Why not?
Because just about the time I was contemplating crying over my hair right there in the salon chair, the Holy Spirit reminded me that the salon was filled with people who knew I was a Christian. They know Jamie and I travel telling people about Jesus and that I claim to live my life for and represent Him.
In almost a split second I was faced with a crossroads: overreact about the temporary problem of a bad haircut and risk damaging my witness that could affect someone's eternal soul or suck it up, be kind, and wait until I was in the privacy of my car to deal with my emotions.
That's when Christianity becomes really practical.....
When your in line at the grocery store....when your stuck in traffic....when your hungry or tired or pms-y or you just got a really bad haircut.
Will you live out what you advertise when you say "I'm a Christian?"
I can't say it's easy, but I do think it's important. From time to time we need to ask ourselves:
"What if someone's eternal destiny was affected by my behavior, reactions, and attitudes."
The world is watching....for the next few weeks they'll be watching me with a bad haircut....but in two weeks when my hair grows back out they won't remember. Hopefully what they will remember is that I've been kind, friendly, fair, and a positive representative for Jesus and that witness will last for eternity.
Until then, baseball hats are cute, right? (Just kidding)
