We have all heard the saying, “First impressions are lasting impressions,” but does that mean they’re true? A helpful way to think about this is with Play-Doh. If you press a quarter into a flattened piece of Play-Doh, it leaves an impression, something that looks like the quarter, but isn’t actually the quarter itself. Similarly, when we meet someone for the first time, the impression we get may resemble the truth but not fully represent it.
It can be easy to present a version of ourselves that isn’t genuine. How hard is it to act kind, generous, or sincere for a short period? Not that hard, but what about producing those qualities consistently? This requires us to have character and authenticity in our lives, not just thinking of impressing others.
We can see the importance of being consistent in our ways, by thinking back to what God told Samuel when Samuel was looking at the sons of Jesse (1 Samuel 16:7). There is no pretending, no faking it, no acting with God. God sees our heart, knows our thoughts and intentions. Our goal should be to leave a lasting imprint of godliness and authenticity, because God knows what our true impression will leave.
Josh Schutkowski