First impression?

Some people instantly strike me as fakes. Is it their smarmy voice? Their limp handshake? Eyes that refuse to contact mine? Over-sincere efforts? Usually I can’t pinpoint exactly what says “fake” to me, but most of the time my first impression turns out to be the right one.

Others are just the opposite. That person is kind and generous, or this one is sincere and truthful. I may not shake their hand or see them beyond a public situation, but they have something about them that shouts a good first impression. If I later have opportunity to know them better, those first thoughts often turn out to be accurate.

I’ve been told, as most have, to be aware of first impressions. We make them and we get them when we meet people. Although being caught on an off day happens, many times, that first impression tells the tale and even if it doesn’t, we know it has a habit of sticking in our minds.

Our Sunday morning ladies class is studying how Christ makes a difference in our lives and how He changes the way we think, talk and act. After spending several weeks on things like the fruit of the Spirit, we’ve moved into the gifts of the Spirit. Yesterday we had to agree that anything God gives us is a gift!

We do nothing to earn or deserve the blessings of God. However, because He lives in us, we can live differently than we used to and different from those who don’t know Him. The Bible is clear that those differences should be obvious.

This was true for at least one of the Old Testament prophets. Elisha traveled through a certain town called Shunem. Every time he passed through, a certain wealthy woman pressed him to eat at her home. She told her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

How did she know that Elisha was a holy man of God? At that point, she had seen no miracles, healings, or heard him preach. He may have ‘looked the part’ but I doubt prophets had a dress code. He must have had a manner or way about him that was different, but not just different, holy.

This passage in 2 Kings prompts me to question the marks of a holy person. If I met one, would I be able to identify them as holy? More to the point, if someone meets me, would they know that I am holy, or would I convey an entirely different impression?

Holy, when used to describe God, means “other than” or so much more than what we are. We might show some virtue, but God is above even our best efforts. Holy, when used to describe people, at least according to my Oxford dictionary, means “dedicated to God or a religious purpose” and “morally and spiritually excellent and to be revered.”

But Holy people do not come across as holier-than-thou. They are without spiritual pride yet keep their lives pure. They don’t push that purity in the face of others. A holy person is deeply interested in the things of God and the will of God. Holiness is personal and yet a holy person cares about others, is not always talking about himself and is considerate and thoughtful.

I could keep going, but I’m already convicted. The difference Christ makes in me shows up in some ways, but holiness is not as visible as it should be. While I’d like to make a good first impression on others, and certain maintain later good impressions, I’m more concerned that I obey His command from the New Testament. It says, “As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

Jesus has made a difference in my life, not just so I am set free from sin and given an abundant and joyful life, great as that is, but I’ve an amazing image to reflect. I’m supposed to be like Jesus, and people are supposed to see Him in me.

Elisha’s non-verbal testimony reminds me of that old truism: a person seldom gets a second chance to make a first impression. God wants holiness and Jesus gives that to me. I need to be more consistent in letting it show.