Pose Pretty

by Jefferson David Tant

What do you usually do when someone points a camera at you? If you are like most, you immediately “straighten up” a bit, don’t you? Hair fixed, clothes in good order, and a nice smile on your face. Did you ever wonder why we are like that — why we go to all that trouble just to have a picture taken? It’s because we know a picture is a lasting thing, and since it will be about for a long time, we want to be sure that by means of the snapshot, we will be “remembered well.” So we “look our best.”

I remember being in the home of friends a while back. We were all getting dressed for church. Their 15-year-old daughter, a special friend of mine, came and asked me, “How do you like my dress?” I wore the longest one I had because I knew you would be here.” She knew my conviction concerning God’s teaching on modest apparel (I Timothy 2:9; Matthew 5:28; etc.), and because she respected and admired me, she wanted to be on her “good behavior” so that I might think well of her. I appreciated her attitude towards me, but how much better if she had the same respect for God.

Do you see that she actually had more respect for them than for God? I’m sure that idea never crossed her mind but it’s true, nonetheless. When in my presence, she wanted to “pose pretty.” But he forgot she was always in God’s presence.

God is always there, and we cannot escape his presence. David said in the 139th Psalm that he could not flee from God. “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol,…thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part s the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me…If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me,…Even the darkness hideth not from thee” (Psalms 139:7-12).
While God may not have “snapshots,” he does have his “book of remembrance” (Malachi 4:16), and he has promised to “bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

We may be able to hide our misbehavior from parents, teachers, or friends we respect, but we cannot hide it from God. And one day we will have to face it all and give an answer. How much easier it will be for us to conduct our lives in such a manner that God will have a “good remembrance” of us. It will save a lot of grief in this life as well as in the life to come. Think about it, and consider:

Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no delight in them." (Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1).

Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals" (I Corinthians 15:33).

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