Even toothpaste can be a test.

 

Go with me here for a moment.

 Let’s say you have just filled your shopping cart with everything on your list. You notice all the checkout lines are crowded, so you mosey on over to the self-checkout area. Under the wary supervision of the self-checkout checker/staffer, you scan and bag your items and place them back in your shopping cart.

 You roll on over to the exit, where the welcome/receipt checker looks in your cart and waves you on.

 Now in the parking lot, you load all your bags into your vehicle.

 

Then it happens.

 Suddenly, you notice a loose item in the bottom of your cart. It’s a tube of toothpaste, and the box is the same color as the cart.

 “Did I miss scanning this thing?” You ask yourself.

 So you check your receipt, which is about two feet long, even though you only purchased about 20 items. And you discover that you did not scan and pay for the toothpaste.

 What do you do?

 

This actually just happened to me.

 Here’s what I did. And I’m not spelling this out for extra points or for pride’s sake. I’m not a perfect Christian. I slip up daily in all sorts of ways. Thank God for His grace. I’m just sharing this story because the experience made me ponder the potential impact our seemingly simple and relatively insignificant choices can have on ourselves and others.

 OK, so I grabbed the toothpaste and my receipt, locked my car, and went back into the store. I walked directly to the exit of the self-checkout area, where the same self-checkout checker/staffer was standing. She asked me what I needed. I handed her my receipt and explained that I had neglected to scan the toothpaste. Then I went to an empty register, scanned the item, and paid for it.

 The self-checkout checker/staffer didn’t react or respond. Maybe she didn’t care. Perhaps she was simply bored with her job. But it could be that she was pondering why someone would go to all that bother to pay for an item that cost about $5.

 It doesn’t make any difference whether she even noticed.

 

No matter how someone else responds to our choices, those choices matter.

 WWJD is still a thing. This catchphrase may not be bandied about as much as it used to be. But the warning behind it still stands.

 

1. We live by faith, but it is demonstrated by action.

 We’re not here to show off for the Lord. But what we do shows, whether we realize it or not. How often do pre-believers evaluate Jesus by what they see in His followers? (We know we don’t measure up. That’s the crux of the Gospel. But that’s a question for those who have not yet trusted in His grace..)

 What if that self-checkout checker happens to spot me at church? Will she judge because of my behavior? Sure, we don’t make moral choices based on what others will think of us, but we also know that our actions can prompt others to assess not only us, but everything we stand for.

 Can you imagine her glancing down the row of seats? Maybe I’d smile at her, trying to be welcoming and friendly. But she might just imagine stolen toothpaste on my smile.

 Is it worth risking offending someone who might be considering Christ, just to save a few steps back into the store to pay for a small unpaid item?

 You bet it’s not.

 

2. We have to live with ourselves.

 Once we trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are freed from guilt and shame because of His atoning sacrifice on the cross on our behalf.

 We still have to live out this life until He calls us home to Heaven. We still have to wrestle with sin and fend off the enemy’s darts that accuse us every time we mess up. And we still contend with our own God-given consciences. I know mine can send me spinning when I make a poor choice. Sure, my eternal salvation no longer hangs in the balance, but my peace of mind sometimes does.

 Because we are awed by God, grateful for grace, and eager to please Him, we consider even the smallest choices to matter.

 

3. We live for God, if we belong to Christ.

 That’s the bottom line. And He is the one who said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10, ESV).

Toothpaste is free at the dentist, but not at the store. And that errant tube only cost five bucks. But a clean conscience is priceless.

 

It wouldn’t matter much to God if my teeth were shiny white, if my truth was tarnished.

 I stumble in all sorts of ways. I can even trip over my own feet. But I believe that our ability to hear from God is fine-tuned, every time we listen and obey. Lord, help me.

Image/s: Public domain photo adapted by this user

 

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Feel free to follow on X. Don’t miss the Heart of a Ready Writer page on Facebook. You are invited to visit my Amazon author page as well.

 

Heads-up! Who needs a holy facelift?

 

(Raising hand sheepishly.)

 Things are looking up – except when they’re not. Or perhaps more accurately, things are looking up when I am looking up.

 

How does everything improve when we look up, as in keeping our eyes on God, instead of on ourselves and our own concerns?

 First, here’s an important clarification. Our God is omnipresent. That means He is everywhere – not just up. When we talk about looking up towards God, we’re speaking physically, not geographically. We’re pointing to His higher honor, wisdom, nobility, strength, power, and dominion – not to any tangible destination that we could mark or measure.

 

OK, back to the original question: How does looking up improve our outlook?

 How does everything improve when we look up, as in keeping our eyes on God instead of ourselves and our own concerns?

 

Let’s start with a big basic biblical truth. God is the one who lifts our heads.

 We might say that God does all the heavy lifting, when it comes to building our faith and raising our spirits. (To be clear: the Lord does all the heavy lifting in every situation His children face. And whatever lifting we do, we only do because He equips and enables us to do so. That’s not a trite, coy, or cute statement. It’s the bedrock of our belief.)

 

Another important Scriptural truth is this: God lifts our heads when we bow them to worship Him. (This becomes clearer when we consider the Scriptures cited below.)

 King David wrote the third Psalm after his own rebellious son drove him away from his royal city. In hiding, David might have been described as keeping his head down. But his outlook was upward, as he covered his head to pray to the Lord.

 “Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise against me! Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him. But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain” (Psalm 3:1-1, NIV, emphasis added).

 The Hebrew word וּמֵרִ֥ים (pronounced ū·mê·rîm) pertains to lifting, raising, elevating, exalting, extolling, offering up, or setting on high. The same word (or related derivatives) appears nearly 200 times in the Old Testament, including these spots:

 “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Exodus 15:2, NKJV, emphasis added).

 “All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels” (Numbers 31:52, NASB, emphasis added).

 “The Lord makes some poor and others rich; He brings some down and lifts others up” (1 Samuel 2:7, NLT, emphasis added).

 “O, my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6, ESV, emphasis added).

 “Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.” (Nehemiah 9:5b, KJV, emphasis added).

 “And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; In His tent I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord” (Psalm 27:6, AMP, emphasis added).

 “Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3, NLT, emphasis added).

 “Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at His sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy, I will sing and make music to the Lord. (Psalm 27:6, NIV, emphasis added).

 

Look up!

 I’m feeling better already. Are you encouraged by these holy verses too?

 Let’s wrap this up with a favorite Scripture that always give me a lift. I hope it will lift your spirit (and your head) as well.

“The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” (Numbers 6:25-26, NKJV, emphasis added).

 Image/s: Public domain photo

 

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Feel free to follow on Twitter. Don’t miss the Heart of a Ready Writer page on Facebook. You are invited to visit my Amazon author page as well.