But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. – Ezekiel 20:9

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 10, 2017) Ezekiel 20

I am always surprised by those that decide to speak negatively about their employers publicly. It seems that stories are frequently told about people who are fired for what they have said on Twitter or Facebook about the very ones who sign their pay checks. Sometimes it is not just comments that are about their employers, but also comments that are not well thought out. A friend of mine questioned individual’s need for personal branding – but sometimes the real problem is that we are not caring enough about the image that we project to others, especially through Social Media. The refrain that I keep hearing is that “the words were just written on my private Facebook page.” The comment is an oxymoron – there is nothing private that is put on Facebook.

The bottom line is that we are all walking advertisements for something – usually many things. A friend of mine recently commented that his struggle with coming to church was that he didn’t have church appropriate clothes. It isn’t that there is much of a dress code, most are comfortable showing up at church in a T-Shirt and jeans. But in his eyes, all of his T-Shirts were advertising something that was unchurchlike, even if it was just a dragon design. In other situations, the advertising worked, but not at church. We continually represent something, starting with our businesses, families and social organizations. But too often we are just conscious enough of the things that we advertise, and what those things might say about us.

Israel was no different. They were supposed to be an advertisement for God. He had publically brought them out of Egypt and had protected them – and yet they didn’t recognize him. Their lives were not a good advertisement for God. And because of that – they couldn’t fulfill their mission of being a blessing to the world. But God insists that he had protected them because of a concern for his name, not because Israel deserved to be protected. And even in the exile, God was concerned that the behavior of Judah would tarnish his name. So Ezekiel was given the task of getting that message across to the people.

If we dare to call ourselves Christians – we are advertisements for God.  And in deference to my friend, we had better do some personal branding. Not that we will lift ourselves up, but that we critically evaluate ourselves and make sure that we are good advertisements for God – for the sake of his name. And then we can be the blessing to the world that we are intended to be.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 21