As we raised our three daughters, we often encouraged them with the words, “Remember who you belong to,” or “Remember whose you are.” What a good reminder for us as global workers living outside our home country. Perhaps it could best be stated, “Remember who you are here to represent.”

Today’s world of social media platforms allows us to declare our agendas, announce our political leanings, and criticize people and ministries that aren’t doing things our way. Without realizing it, we can engage in conversations, whether posted online or face-to-face, that compete with the purpose and message God sent us to declare.

Living abroad, people in our host countries ask questions about political candidates or situations in our countries of birth. “What do you think of __________?” “Why do Christians vote for So and So?” It can be tempting to alter our focus from representing Christ to speaking out for the American values we treasure or to speak against agendas that concern or disgust us.

Remembering who I belong to returns my focus to God’s calling on my life. Written to dispersed Jews, 1 Peter 2:9 also speaks to Gentiles who have been adopted into God’s family. As believers, we, too, are chosen and are God’s treasured possession.

More than once, God has tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me to climb down from any soapbox that does not honor my Lord and Savior and focus instead on what can bring spiritual life and hope to the world around me.

Does what I scream out the window at yapping dogs honor Jesus? Does what I post on social media represent the God I belong to? Am I respecting the culture God sent me to reach, or has complaining and criticism hindered relationships with those God sent me to influence and serve? If my actions while living abroad call into question the gospel I am here to proclaim, I am not representing my Savior well. Declaring His truth and highlighting His promises should dictate what I say, post, and how I live before others. May we continually measure and evaluate our actions and reactions, remembering who we belong to!