BL

I had to look closely. What I thought I saw disturbed me. As I drove along I-40 there was a billboard on the opposite side of the road. I could clearly see the beer can and the fact that there were people on the billboard. But what really caught my eye was something behind the pictures; almost a watermark.

So I stared intently as I drove closer and closer. My contacts are really old and don't work so good anymore. Focusing is sometimes slow; sometimes impossible. But I was able to focus on the billboard and what I saw disappointed me.

The initials of the beer are BL; so are mine. The watermark on the advertisement was BL.

That really bothers me. Scripture instructs Christians to be in the world to influence it for Christ but not to be of the world (meaning, influenced by it). We are also to avoid all appearance of evil.

I have a personal conviction that this means I should not order a non-alcoholic drink that would be served in a glass similar to the alcoholic versions because someone might think I'm drinking an alcoholic beverage. By the way, I believe it is a sin to drink alcoholic beverages.

Here's another one: I should avoid looking at the rack of calendars on the bookstore if the rack contains calendars of bikini-clad women. I don't want people to think I was looking at those instead of the landscape calendars.

Or what about this: I believe that gambling is a sin because it is not good stewardship (using wisely all that God gives you). So I won't watch the Texas Hold 'Em touraments or learn the specifics of the game even though I enjoy playing cards and even think Poker is a challenging game. But I don't want to give the impression that I gamble or think it is OK.

So, I guess I need to change my name so that my initials won't be associated with beer. Or, better yet, I'll just live in a way that people think of Christ when they see those initials rather than thinking of beer. It's up to me to honor God's name with my name.