When I was a kid in school, one of my great desires was to be like the guys who were Juniors and Seniors in High School.  I combed my hair just like Johnny Rollins, I rolled up my britches legs just like Jimmy Peters did, and I walked with the same swagger as Waydelle Paxton.  Sometimes I even tried to sound like the grunting, inarticulate Tommy Halloway.  And how I wanted to be able to run with a football like Kirby Jones.

 

To imitate is to follow after someone, to emulate their actions, appearance, speech or other mannerisms. The word is taken from a Latin word which meant “to appear like,” or “to resemble.”

 

We are all prone to imitate others, to try and be like them.  And when “others” is some godly saint, one trying to represent Christ in his or her life and recommend Him to others by that righteous living, imitation is good.  Paul told the young evangelist, “Let no man despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity (II Timothy 4:12).  Some people are worthy of our emulation.

 

But there are other forms of imitation, some of them very subtle, which are not only not in our best interests, but which should studiously be avoided. John the Apostole said, “Do not love the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him” (I John 2:15). We need to be careful that the world does not become the object of our affection–so much so that we try too much to be like the world. 

 

Following are some things we should be careful not to imitate.  We must be careful not to:

 

Talk like the world.  It’s easy to be seduced into adopting the language of the people round about us.  We need to be careful not to let worldly people dictate our language.  I am sick and tired to hearing people take the name of the Lord in vain by exclaiming in every situation, “O my God!” That is a flippant use of the name of our God and should only be uttered when one is impressed with His Greatness, His Mercy, His Provision, not in some silly situation where it brings no honor to Him.  It’s not only disgusting, it’s sinful. And that’s not the only way our speech can be like the world.  Cursing is stupid.  It has no place in the life of a Christian. Dirty jokes are just that–dirty–and they should not be part of a godly person’s life.  “Be thou example.”  What does that mean?

 

Dress like the world. Nobody is against style.  Nobody is opposed to making yourself as attractive as you can.  But there is such a thing as immodesty, showing little or no restraint about how you appear just so you can look like the rest of the world. Both men and women have an obligation to adorn themselves modestly.  Someone has rightly observed that “you are how you dress.”  

 

Nothing is more appealing that a godly woman, adorned in the frills and frocks of femininity with modesty and obvious concern for holiness and piety. She is one of glories of God’s creation. But she can destroy that beauty in an instant by adorning herself in propagative attire that is too short, too revealing, too tight and whatever else calls undue attention to herself. James 1:27 says that one to the evidences of pure religion is to “keep one’s self unspotted from the world.”  And in our age , the male body has become as much a tantalizing, sexually inspiring factor as is that of the female.  Men want to show their “abs,” and the “flex” in their muscles.  And for what?  Nobody’s against good health or having a good body, but men have no more right to flaunt their bodies than do the women. Male or female, if you look too much like the world, it may well indicate that you are too much like the world.

 

Be entertained like the world.  We are immersed in an entertainment oriented-world.  Everywhere you look there’s an obvious effort to entertain you–and not just on television or Facebook. Automobiles are fixed so as to entertain while you drive, your cell phone is chock full of entertainment venues.  You can take it everywhere you go.  And it’s affected religion. Television is mostly filled with nastiness.  Facebook is too often used for sexual innuendos, Twitter for quick, sometimes dirty cliches.

Even religion is mostly entertainment anymore. Churches have not only left acappella music in worship, they now have bands–even rock bands! Many of the modern day Evangelists are more like rock stars than preachers. Entertainment–and it’s all done in the name of religion.

 

We are apt to adapt ourselves to what we watch, what we listen to.  It affects how we walk and how we talk and how we act.  It dictates where we go and what we do there.  It is, in far too many instances, the motor which accelerates our lives.  We best be careful what we let into our hearts, because “as a man thicket in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

 

“Be saved” like the world.  “Your religion is too hard,” we’re told; “besides, it’s not exciting.” Denominationalism has its appeal. It has, in fact, invaded many churches. And the reason is simple: we want productions like other churches, we want bands that entertain like other churches, we want comedians to tickle us like “they” do. We want methods for salvation that are emotional, that make us feel good. We want special programs, all kinds of special programs, and on and on it goes.  Furthermore, it’s easy to try and imitate the emotional brands of religion we see being fomented around us.  “Let Jesus come into your heart,” sounds good. While all these things are attractive and may have an appeal, we must not allow them to influence us.  Rather, we must continue to “speak as the oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11), and not as man thinks.  Let us strive to emulate and replicate the New Testament church of our Lord, not some religious denomination.

 

Here’s one for your consideration: “Be ye imitators of me, even as I am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1). 

How long has it been since someone told you, “Brother Jones–an elder at our congregation–he’s my example, I want to be just like him.”  Or, “I love sister Norma; she’s my example; I want to be a Christian just like her.”