Are You A Faithful Ambassador Or A Wicked Messenger?

“A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health” (Proverbs 13:17).

“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”” (II Corinthians 5:20).

For Americans who wish to serve abroad, ambassador is one of the most highly sought after positions. This position is commonly handed out based on political favors to the president or to the political party that the president belongs to. Although our sinful nature can corrupt the appointment of ambassadors by placing people in these positions who lack the proper qualifications, there are a number of reasons why people who show loyalty to the president are appointed.

To develop a clear understanding of this and of what Paul was talking about, we need to know more about the duties and responsibilities that ambassadors hold. It is first important to note that ambassadors live in countries that are not their own. The Bible makes it clear that as believers, this world is not a home to us because our home is in heaven. An ambassador, however, is not just someone who lives in a different country. There are lots of people with visas who go to other countries on vacation, but these individuals are tourists, rather than ambassadors. Tourists enter into foreign countries solely for personal enjoyment or for a vacation. None of them have the intention of working there.

Another important consideration is that ambassadors are the embodiment of the nations they represent. Many inhabitants of the countries they visit may be unfamiliar with the ambassador's home country. They may never have even met a person from the ambassador's home land, and they may never meet another person from that land again. An ambassador shoulders the responsibility of displaying behavior that he wants associated with his home country, because to the natives of the country he is visiting, this behavior will become representative of all members of the ambassador's home country. Bad behavior promotes a bad image of his homeland, and good behavior promotes a good image of his homeland.

An ambassador also serves as the face of his country to everyone he encounters. Many people who live in a country are not going to travel abroad and this means that the ambassador is the only person who they will see from a particular foreign country. If the behavior of the ambassador is poor, people will assume that everyone from his home nation behaves in the same way.

Marines who had been deployed to Japan were given a warning from their base commander that they were all serving as ambassadors for both their branch of the US military and their country and they were therefore instructed to behave honorably. Some time ago, there were Marines in this region who raped a young woman from Okinawa. Widespread protests arose given that most residents on the island believed that this behavior was indicative of every American.

As Christians, we must promote the values of Christ. We must live in a way that embodies those values. Our lifestyles should show others how good Christ is, and we should reflect his teachings and his values in all we do. Promoting our own values and opinions would be a deviation from our loyalty to Christ. It would be paramount to treason, and would not be a display of loyal ambassadorship.

To best represent the values of our heavenly leader, we must always remember to keep our words and actions in harmony with the principals found in the Holy Bible. Our behavior as a Christian should be appealing to all who encounter us, so that others develop a high opinion of our leader, Christ. Our behavior must glorify Christ, and this will encourage others to seek his ruler-ship as well. In all we do, we must seek to show others that we are representatives and ambassadors of the Most High.

God is appealing to us as believer in Christ to live our lives in a way that he can be reflected through us. We are God’s representatives on this earth; he is doing his work through us by the person of the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is to get into the word of God, so that we can know his ways. In addition, we are commanded to live a life that pleases him trough walking in holiness.