"Facebooking" to the Lord: An audience of One...

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I was cruisin' through Facebook the other night, reading off random status updates to my husband.  One status in particular caught my eye as the friend was describing their "perfect" day (If you're wondering if it was you....relax, it was the other friend).  My husband John, after hearing the detailed description of perfection commented, "Wow, people tend to embellish their lives on Facebook."

If you look up the word embellish, this is what you'll find:  to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful detail; to enhance.  Sure sounds like the typical Facebook status to me.  I'm guilty of this myself.  So...you might be thinking, "what is the problem?"

The answer comes down to one word: motives.  In my opinion, there is a large and dangerous risk looming when we seek to embellish our lives to others for the glory of ourselves.  Don't get me wrong, I think it's a beautiful thing when a person can enjoy the details of their life- the beautiful sunshine, the romantic walk with your spouse, the fun day at the playground with your family, the taste of fresh strawberries in the summertime.  These are all beautiful details that God has given to us, and we should be free to enjoy every single aspect of these details. 

Again, the problem is not in enjoying the details- the problem is when we elaborate the details for the sheer purpose of adding value to our life through the praises of man...when we seek glory from man, rather than seeking to glorify God. 

As we read in Colossians, we are commanded to do everything in our life with the purpose and privileged of enhancing the name of our Lord.  We are called to "embellish" His name....which is easier said than done.  To put it in the words of a song, we are called to live to "An audience of One".   

So how does a Facebook status look any different bringing glory to God or glory to ourselves?  The answer: it doesn't.  It's simply a matter of our hearts.  It's merely taking an honest look into the motives of our sinful man, deliberately keeping those motives aligned with our Lord.  It's seeking to pursue our value from a Higher source, and enjoy the details of our lives because God has given them to us- not because we want the spotlight. 

It's not an easy task, but it applies in everything from our Facebook status' to our acts of kindness to our church attendance.  We have got to continually seek to offer these good things to our Lord, asking Him to keep us humble and keep our motives in check.

So whatever you do this week, in word, or deed, or Facebook status....do it all to the name of our Lord.  To an audience of One.  Amen.