A Bad First Impression for Christianity

Are first impressions important to you? Do you remember some significant first impressions that people have made upon you? I can remember the first impression I felt when I went on a date with a guy once. He pelted me with questions about what I enjoyed doing. As I talked about the things I did, as if he didn't think I was interesting enough he asked me, "Well you don't....." and filled in the blank with a variety of wild activities that I never had or never planned to be participated in. It soon became evident that we had very little in common.

First impressions have a way of telling you quite a bit about a person. You may have heard someone say, "All it takes is a bad first impression to ruin your chances." This can be quite true. That's why first impressions are so important. And the old saying is true, "You only get one chance to make a good first impression."

Whether it be a date, like the one I described, a job interview, or random interactions in your everyday life, you always want to be aware of the impression that you are making on another person about yourself with your words and actions.

After all it is important to consider if you are a Christian that you are making an impression on others about Christianity. Many of us do not realize how badly we put off non-Christians about Christianity by the impressions we make with our actions, words and attitudes about Christianity itself.

Many non-Christians see Christianity through the wrong lens because they see it through the bad first impressions of those of us who don't portray it correctly. That is such a disappointment too.

Think about it, if all you do is show them the negativity of Christianity then you are truly causing it to get a bad rap. Or, maybe you do not live up to the expectations that a Christian should so others are seeing it as a fluke. Either way, it isn't good for us to portray Christianity incorrectly because of our lack of respect or discipline.

First impressions can matter in many situations, but especially in the case of a Christian portraying Christianity in the wrong way.