True Colors
One late winter day while getting ready to go to the Big 12 Basketball Tournament, I had to make a fashion decision: Wear an official green or gold Baylor T-shirt, wear a regular green shirt but unmarked, or just wear one of my usual shirts, most of which are some shade of blue. I chose to wear an unmarked green shirt because it was comfortable and warm. And I reasoned that with much of the crowd wearing burnt orange, people would know by my plain green shirt who I represent.
Years ago I wrote a memoir for the founder of a large Dallas business and was intrigued that he did not want his company to be known as a “Christian business.” He was a devout man and had surrounded himself with colleagues of similar character and beliefs, but when some in the business wanted to make an official statement of Christian values, he said no. There were practical reasons: He didn’t want to be labeled a hypocrite if someone made a mistake, or if the company had to make an honest but tough decision. He also didn’t want to use Christ as a marketing ploy as some businesses have done. But more than anything else, he just wanted his company’s actions to speak for them rather than some official banner.
Our friend Bill O’Brien says that while doing mission work among Muslims in Indonesia, he learned to describe himself as a “Christ follower” and not a Christian. The Muslims understand who Christ is and they respect him as a great prophet. But Christians? Well, they hear us say that America is a “Christian nation” and then they see our television shows and movies laden with violence, greed and immorality and they draw understandably negative conclusions.
Which all goes to say that having the official colors, logos and mottos doesn’t say as much as how you live and how you treat people – whether doing business with them, ministering to them, or just being their neighbor. In fact, you can learn more about someone – who they are, what they need, how you can be better neighbors – by listening to them than you can by telling them who you are or waving your colorful flag in their face.