Are You a Good Billboard? How Your Life Represents Jesus to the World

Meta Description: What do people think of Jesus based on how they watch you live? A look at Titus 2 and what it means to represent Christ well in every season of life. URL Slug: are-you-a-good-billboard-titus-2-representing-jesus Featured Image: A wide-open Texas highway stretching into the distance with a single billboard on the horizon — warm, golden-hour lighting, suggesting a journey with a destination worth reaching.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I traveled to Boulder, Colorado for a Baylor football game. The scenery was stunning — fall colors, mountain air, Rocky Mountain National Park. I was ready to move there. And then I met the people.

From the couple on the patio who insulted us before we even reached the stadium, to the guy in the bathroom who had a few too many drinks and told me I looked like Rosie O'Donnell — I left Colorado with a very bad taste in my mouth. Now, whenever Colorado shows up on TV, I'm cheering for the other team. And if my daughter ever said she wanted to go to school there? Not a chance.

Here's what that experience taught me: how people act changes your perception of what they represent. For good or for bad.

And that's exactly what Paul is getting at in Titus 2.

You Are Representing More Than You Think

As believers in Jesus, we're not just representing a school or a workplace or a brand. We are representing the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords — Jesus Christ himself.

People in your life who know you're a Christian are watching you. Are you lazy or do you have a work ethic? Do you gossip or do you speak words of encouragement? Do you live just like everyone else, or is there something different about you?

Paul opens Titus 2 with a clear command: "You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1). What follows is practical instruction for five different groups of people within the church. There's something here for all of us.

For the Older Men: Don't Check Out

Paul writes: "Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in the faith, in love, and in endurance" (Titus 2:2).

That last word — endurance — might be the most important one. The world says that after 40 years of hard work, you've earned the right to do whatever you want. But there is no retirement in the Great Commission. If your heart is still beating, you have people to disciple and a kingdom to advance.

I've seen this lived out beautifully. A man named Phil Oliver shows up on Thursday nights to serve in our young adult ministry — praying with college students, believing in them, cheering for them. When one of them placed their faith in Jesus for the first time, Phil was more excited than if he'd hit a hole-in-one. That's what that season of life is made for.

Older men, we need you. Don't check out. Clock in.

For the Older Women: Live with Reverence and Pass It On

Paul instructs: "Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to too much wine, but to teach what is good" (Titus 2:3).

The Greek word for "slanderers" here is diabolos — where we get the word devil. When we gossip and slander others, we are literally doing the devil's work. Instead, older women are called to live with the dignity of their sacred office. You are a daughter of the King of Kings. Live like it.

And then pass it down. In a church as young as ours, we desperately need the wisdom and faithfulness of the older generation. The world says you become less useful with age. In the church, it's the opposite — you become more useful.

For the Younger Women: Faithfully Follow the Word of God

Paul writes: "Then the older women can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God" (Titus 2:4-5).

That last phrase carries enormous weight. The way you live either causes people to respect the word of God — or dismiss it. When you follow God's commands, people notice the peace, the patience, the purpose in your life. Your faithfulness is a witness.

For the Young Men: Be Self-Controlled

Paul's instruction to young men is simple and urgent: "Encourage the young men to be self-controlled" (Titus 2:6).

The defining characteristic of most young men is that they are not. Recent studies show alarming numbers of young men trapped daily in video games, gambling, and pornography. I'm not here to shame anyone — but I do want to be honest: this will not go well for you.

The answer isn't just willpower. The answer is a greater mission. God created you for things that get your heart beating, that put you on mission, that make you feel alive. Jesus didn't say, "Pick up your controller and follow me." He said, "Pick up your cross and follow me." You are made for more. Wake up to it.

For Workers: Work to Please Your True Master

Finally, Paul addresses those under authority: "Teach [them] to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive" (Titus 2:9-10).

That word attractive comes from the Greek root for cosmos — that feeling of awe when you look up at the night sky and see the stars in all their order and grandeur. That's how people should feel when they watch you work. Not in awe of you — but in awe of the God you represent.

The Purpose of a Billboard

The best billboard on a Texas highway isn't asking you to stop and stare at it. It's pointing you somewhere worth going.

That's what we are. If you are a believer in Jesus, you are a billboard for him — and the purpose of your life is not to say, "Look at me." It's to say, "Look at him. He changed my life. I was lost and he found me. I was dead and he raised me. I was blind, but he gave me sight."

My prayer for all of us is this: may we live with such kindness, integrity, and self-control that the people around us say, "Tell me about your God."

How are you doing? As a billboard for Jesus, are you drawing people closer to him — or pointing them away?

If this message stirred something in you and you're looking for a next step, I'd love for you to get more connected here at Harris Creek. Whether that's joining a life group, serving in a ministry, or simply reaching out with questions — email us at hello@harriscreek.org. We'd love to walk with you.

You can also watch the full message on our YouTube channel and share it with someone who needs to hear it this week.

Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): How people act changes the way others perceive what they represent. As Christians, we're not just representing a school or a workplace — we're representing Jesus. This week's message from Titus 2 asks a simple but convicting question: if your life is a billboard for Christ, what are people seeing? Read the full post and share it with someone who needs it. 👇

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