Sprite's slogan rings familiar with most of the television-owning segment of the population. Simple and catchy, this advertising campaign's brilliance lies in its truthfulness—and I'm not referring to the tastiness of any beverage.

What is image?

Your image is determined by the way you see yourself, and how you think other people see you. Since they are rarely the same, most people see these as two distinct pictures and place a certain amount of importance on each of them. The relative importance of each varies for different people and for different times in a person's life.

You also hold an ideal picture of yourself—the person you want to be, wish you were, or how you want other people to see you.

Your and other people's awareness of these pictures become your image. And your image seems to take on a life of its own. It almost becomes a real person, much like a character in a book, such as Sherlock Holmes.

You wear your image like a hat. Everywhere you go, you're always aware of its presence. You find yourself evaluating your actions on the basis of how they will effect your image. Image controls how people dress, what they eat, what they say, with whom they associate, what they do for fun, and even how they walk.

With all of this, it's easy to forget that image is just an illusion—a fictitious character in your mind. Image is nothing.

External control

The truth is that when you allow your actions to be determined by your image, you are letting other people control you. You live your life according to other people's opinions and values, not your own, much less God's. Enter thirst.

Thirst is everything.

The things you thirst for define who you really are. And what you value determines what you thirst for. Ultimately, choice determines what you value. And your thirst is revealed in the way you live your life.

Different people thirst for different things and go to different sources to quench their thirst. When you let your image make your decisions for you, you often find yourself drinking from someone else's pool, which may quench their thirst, but not yours.

This is not to say that appearances are unimportant and other people's opinions don't matter. It's just a question of control. Are you controlling your own life or is your image controlling you?

Let your thirst and not your image define you. Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Choose your values, then obey your thirst.

Blessed are those who thirst for righteousness. Matt. 5:6.

Reggie Johnson is the Southwestern Union Conference assistant communication director.