Unintentional Irony

Ever make a faux pas? A completely unintentional, awkward act or utterance? A miscue, saying or doing something that didn’t come out quite right? Last week I was in California for a seminar, and I saw the bumper stickers above on the car I was following. At a stop sign I quickly grabbed my camera and took a picture. You can’t make this stuff up. As you can see, there where three bumper stickers that said, in progression:

Even Democrats can get a chuckle at the unintentional irony. And Republicans must be howling with laughter. One has to wonder if the owner of the car had been smoking some of that new Colorado weed or was politically clueless as to the implications of linking those three messages in succession. A mistake of this sort isn’t fatal, just embarrassing – a least we hope it would be. But spiritual unintentional ironies are a lot more serious. Take, for example, some things that people link in the same breath:

The irony of being a mental patient and voting for Obama makes us grin at the oops factor. The suggestion that an individual may dismiss Christ’s claim of divinity and still inherit an afterlife of eternal bliss is damningly deceptive. Be careful what you put on your bumper, and be a lot more careful what you believe in your heart. There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death, declares Proverbs 14:12.

An encouraging word:  HONOR FROM THE LORD

Psalm 15:4 notes that God honors those who “fear the Lord.” That’s how I want to be known. I don’t fear what people say, but what God thinks. Do you? As Paul said, “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Through my years of ministry I’ve had some very ugly things said about me. Of course it hurts, but it doesn’t deter me. It’s the honor of the Lord I strive for, He who really knows the inner motives of my heart. Don’t be concerned about the accusations of men. Seek honor from the Lord and you’ll be spiritually successful.