Are You a Witness or a Spectacle?

I was invited on New Year’s Eve 2017, per my pastor's request, to minister on the topic of influence. Initially, I did not know what I would speak about, but when I went into prayer, God revealed my subject. I ministered the story of a little girl that so impacted and influenced my walk with God that God himself asked me to talk about her. Honestly, I had forgotten about her in recent years until he mentioned her. He wanted me to minister to the young people, and he wanted to use her as an example. 

I'll call her Phylicia (that's how I refer to her in my book, Suitable Singles: Every Single Decision Matters). When I met her, she was 10 years old, and Phylicia was different from any other child or adult I had ever met. I was eleven years old and in the fifth grade for the second time when I met Phylicia through a friend who knew her. I was ashamed, afraid, very shy by nature, and miserable. And her life to me was intriguing because she was beautiful, smart, talented, and happy. 

At first, I had no idea of her Christianity until one day she was being coerced into taking part in the inappropriate behavior of a group of about seven children that hung with her; I was the eighth. Basically, the group had taken up cursing, and they thought Phylicia should also take up cursing. But Phylicia told them, “I’m not saying that! I’m a Christian!” And she didn’t, not even for the cute little boy who everyone called her boyfriend.

That was impressive because everyone else was trying to fit in with the crowd. But Phylicia did not need to fit in with the crowd, because the crowd gravitated to her, not she to the crowd. Her strong stance led the group to create a new language that mimicked cursing without the bad words; and they were hilarious! And as a result, everyone stopped cursing. 

There was something definitely special about that young girl. I noticed that the more I hung around Phylicia, the more I had unique experiences. Because Phylicia joined the school choir, we all joined the choir, and somehow, I ended up playing a tambourine on television in the background while she sang. I had never played a tambourine before, but somehow I just knew I could. At least in my eleven-year-old mind. 

On another occasion, our teacher recruited her for an African dance group she was putting together for Black History Month. The other girls had to audition, but Phylicia was chosen. I wanted to audition, but my teacher wouldn’t allow me. I didn’t have the look! So, when my friends went to rehearsal every day, week after week, I went with them. I loved to dance, so I sat in a chair in the corner with my hands folded and just watched them.

A week before the presentation, the teacher was frantic because one of the key dancers had gone out sick with pneumonia about three weeks prior. They had hoped she would be back before the presentation, but she wouldn’t be. The teacher didn’t know who was going to take her place, but little Phylicia turned to me and asked, “Don’t you know the steps?”

In complete and utter shock, I murmured shyly, “Uh, huh!” 

My teacher asked me to show her the routine, and I did. One week later, I was on the stage with my friends, dancing with a big smile on my face. None of those experiences would have been possible if a little girl hadn’t been an impressive witness for Christ. Everybody loved her, and she oozed the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I was well hated and constantly bullied, but she never insulted or mistreated me; she noticed me.

She and I weren’t close friends, but everyday I would leave my house, which was ten houses from the school, and walk twelve blocks in the opposite direction to her house to walk to school with Phylicia. Why? Because I saw and experienced Jesus through her. I loved how she talked fondly about him and sang songs about him. I also noticed how she never compromised her integrity for her friends. She was the same at school as she was at home.

After meeting Phylicia, I desperately wanted to go to church, and a year later I did when I was invited by my best friend. My family didn’t go to church, but I yearned to know God, since he spoke to me at four years old. He talked to me periodically when I needed correction and direction. The more he spoke, the more I wanted more of him, but I didn’t know how to connect with him.

It occurred to me as I was preparing my message that if I had not failed the 5th grade, I wouldn’t have met Phylicia, because I would’ve been a year ahead of her. Had I not met her, I probably wouldn’t have developed a deep yearning for church. And had I not gone to church to learn more about the love of God and salvation, I probably would still be a lost soul and unable to minister to you. 

As the Lord reminded me about little Phylicia's light that shone so brightly before me. He said, “Some people are witnesses of my goodness and glory, but others who claim to be my witnesses make a spectacle of my name.” 

Immediately, I thought how some elders often refer to glasses as spectacles. Spectacles represent sight or seeing. I like Webster's 1913 definition, "Something exhibited to view; usually, something presented to view as extraordinary, or as unusual and worthy of special notice; a remarkable or noteworthy sight..."

Most of the time when we hear the word spectacle, it has a negative connotation. It suggests that one is putting on a fake show. It made me really examine myself, wondering if I am being seen as a witness or a spectacle? I don’t want to put on a performance to a dying world, when I should be “letting my light so shine that men may see my good works and glorify my father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

If I display the Savior's grace, mercy, and loving-kindness authentically, it will open the door to witness to others of his redemption (The Good News of The Gospel of Jesus Christ). And for that reason am so grateful God sent little Phylicia across my path. The funny thing about our relationship is that Phylicia never came to my house or stepped into my dark world. Instead, she invited me into her house and her well-lit world; which was much safer and enjoyable for both of us. Phylicia never knew how she affected and influenced my life, but she will forever be a part of my testimony as a born-again Christian.

Prayer:

Father, may my walk, my talk, and my living be a witness of your goodness and your reality as God. Help me not to compromise my holiness and righteousness to be a part of a vain world. May you use my life as a testimony of your goodness, and may your light shine so brightly through me that people around me gravitate to you. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!