Does It Really Matter What Other People Think?
So it happened again. There was a competition. This competition was not limited to a specific time and it did not involve teams scoring points head to head. Nobody threw anything the farthest, ran any race the fastest, or jumped the highest or the longest. Instead, this competition had judges. Each team performed and the judges decided who won. The participants were completely dependent upon the interpretation of the judges.
I don’t know about you, but this type of competition does not interest me. I always judge differently than the judges judge. Maybe I am biased, or maybe they are. I just know that usually those venues leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. It always seems like somebody gets a bad deal. Human judgments are fallible and full of prejudice. It is almost impossible to have a true winner when the standards are based on matters of opinion.
This reminds me that at the end of the day, as I try to live my life for the Lord, it really does not matter what other people think. Does this mean I don’t care what other people think? No, because I want to have a good reputation and a good name. No, because I want to bless others and do well and glorify God. No, because I don’t want to be misinterpreted or misunderstood. But guess what? Just because I want to have all these things doesn’t mean I will have them. We live and do our best, but people are still going to have their own opinions and judgments.
Paul made this very strong statement by inspiration, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Along with that, he also stated, “…I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). Paul was willing to be whatever God wanted him and needed him to be (not what men wanted him to be) because it pleased God to save all men, and to do so through gospel preaching (1 Tim. 2:3-5; 1 Cor. 1:18-21). Paul knew he could not compromise who he was or what he taught, and yet he became as flexible as he could be in order to accomplish his task.
So maybe this is where we need to be: as peaceable and helpful as we can be in our dealings with men, and yet uncompromising when it comes to the truth of God’s word. If we make it our aim to please God in everything we say and do, and if we love mankind while we do it, then we will be as close to being like Jesus as we can ever be.
Do not allow the judgments and discouragements of others to weigh you down. Do not allow harsh criticisms from others keep you from the convictions of your faith. Simply remember to love God supremely and then love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said this was the law and the prophets. Jesus said these were the two greatest commandments.
“Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.” – John Wooden
—————–
To Receive Every Post via Email for Free, Click Here
Photo background credit: M Rehan on Creative Commons
