TheDiscipleMD
The term, “Poker face”, comes from the card game of the same name. In the game of “Poker”, you are not supposed to let anyone know, by the look on your face, of what you are holding in your hand. Hence, the definition:
“Expressionless: a face showing no expression and revealing nothing about what somebody is thinking or feeling.”
Years ago, Kenny Rogers sang a song about “The Gambler”, that captured the essence of playing Poker. A good player is one who can hold a “Poker face.”
A “Poker Face”, is wonderful for cards, but the Lord has taught us that when it come to the gospel:
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14–16.)
Joseph Wirthlin said, “If we live the principles of the gospel, we are the fulfillment of the Savior’s pronouncement: “Ye are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). And possessing this light, we can shine among our fellowmen through our lives and deeds, influencing them to glorify our Father in Heaven.
Jesus wants every one of us to know him because of the transforming power of that knowledge and because of the indescribable joy it brings into our lives. But the influence of the gospel is to extend beyond each individual. It is to be as a light that dispels the darkness from the lives of those around us. No one of us is saved solely and simply for himself alone, just as no lamp is lighted merely for its own benefit.” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Let Your Light So Shine,” Ensign, Nov 1978, 36).
My experience, over the years, has led me to believe that, “One who has a testimony”, is easily identifiable. Men and women of faith don’t have “poker faces.” The opposite is true. You can read their faces and see that the light of the gospel shines outward, making them people of warmth and likability. In other words, it shouldn’t be hard for someone to tell if we have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let us not be “Poker Faced” when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let our faces so shine that people know who we are, and what we are about.