We often think of first impressions because they are a big deal; we want to come across in a way that we think will be impressive. We also should be mindful of the impact we are leaving as well through our words and actions.
To be aware of our impression and impact, we should look to the Bible and try to live in a way that is pleasing to God.
People and things that make an impact on us are like getting sunburned on an overcast day. You can go out on a very windy, cloudy day and hardly ever see the sun, so you think, “Oh, I’m not going to get burnt,” only to look at yourself when you get home and realize you got burnt pretty bad.
We can hang out with people, listen to things, and watch things and think, “Oh, I’ll be okay, whatever is going on won’t make that big of an impression on my life,” only to realize at some point that our words and actions have come from those exact things.
When we are looking to the things in life that impact us and leave us with impressions, we need to be aware of what they are. God leaves us with impact and impressions all throughout the Bible.
Philippians 2:3-5 – Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
When we are raising little ones, and we say or do something and then watch them mimic what was done or said, we think it is so cute. But let’s say we did or said something, and we know we shouldn’t have done that, then we see our little ones mimicking that. We didn’t want to make that impression on them, but we did.
We want to make an impact in the lives of those around us, but we need to be aware of the impression we are leaving as well, and how we will impact their lives.
1 Peter 3:4 - You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
Have you ever had a caricature done? I have, and when watching those artists draw, they pick out something they physically see and amplify it. Then you look at it and you laugh because it’s funny, but then you might think, “wow” …what was behind that wow could be a lot of things. But you are looking at what someone saw and amplified to be funny.
1 Corinthians 13:12 - Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
We need to be aware of what we are impressing on others and how we impact them. We want them to walk away from us seeing God amplified through us.