Robert Parker is at odds with his school board over the wearing of a shirt with A666@ printed on the back, and the ACLU is pressing suit against them on his behalf for violating his right to freedom of speech. The school authorities felt he was sending an inappropriate message by wearing a symbol connected with the antichrist when they took action against him. He may have been ignorant of the impact his T shirt was having, but he was probably aware that it raised the blood pressure of knowledgeable adults and so was glad that it was provocative.
What drew my attention to this story was the fact that this young man, wittingly or unwittingly, was sending a message about his allegiances in the spiritual war between good and evil, between God and Satan. Every day we send out messages, too, and I wonder whether we are aware of this or whether we feel our spiritual allegiance goes unnoticed by the world around us.
When the apostle Peter protested against the accusation that he was one of Jesus’ followers he was told that "the way you talk gives you away" (Matthew 26:73). Either what he said or the manner in which he said it was sending messages to others about his association with the Lord. Here we should notice two things about our speech: it reflects the speech of those with whom we keep company on a daily basis and it shows the kind of thinking in which we and our companions indulge.
Paul encourages Christians to clean up their speech with these words: "But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks" (Ephesians 5:4-5). The apostle says that there are some topics which do not belong in the saints thinking and some terms which should not be part of his vocabulary.
There is more to sending out messages than just the words which come from our mouths, however. Timothy is instructed by Paul that "in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity," he is to be "an example of [or to] those who believe" (1 Timothy 4:12). Actions and attitudes show our inner spiritual qualities and are used as examples, not only by believers but by those in the world. Many a worldly person has based his criticism of Christianity on some untoward behavior he has observed in a so-called "Christian." It is important, then, that those who proclaim the gospel should be living examples of its purifying effect on lives and should give no grounds for this kind of criticism.
Those of us who work in circumstances which make it difficult to maintain Christian standards of conduct and speech should remember that it is doubly important for us to send out the right message about our faith. Let’s make sure everyone knows, by our conduct, that we are Christians. Let’s be careful to calculate what sort of message we’re going to be sending out before we act or speak. Even in our actions, let’s "Preach the word!"
Mel