But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. - 1 Samuel 16:7
As Christians and people who live on the earth and who may not have spiritual insight into the hearts of people, we naturally tend to look at outward things. We see that sister or brother who volunteers for everything at church, or who has the amazing smile that warms everyone's heart or who prays with the utmost intensity whenever we meet and there we automatically put the sticker of "Great Christian" on the person.
And you know, none of these things are bad per se. In fact, having been in ministry for this short while I know that pastors and leaders really cherish men and women who can be relied on for just about anything or who can be called on at anytime to perform one function or another for the church. It is absolutely great if you can be relied on be there at any time for the Body of Christ.
And you know, none of these things are bad per se. In fact, having been in ministry for this short while I know that pastors and leaders really cherish men and women who can be relied on for just about anything or who can be called on at anytime to perform one function or another for the church. It is absolutely great if you can be relied on be there at any time for the Body of Christ.
I however recently have come to a realization about myself (that may be of use to someone who is reading) : I found myself doing many things not out of love for God but simply because I knew that as I did them, I would be noticed and cherished. Major newsflash : that's the wrong motive for doing ANYTHING in the Body of Christ !
"...man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
God sees our hearts and knows our motives when no-one does. He is not impressed with most of the things we think will impress Him simply because it impresses our leaders. Yes, we are called to submit to one other and living in rebellion in church is from the pit of hell anyway, BUT (a big BUT), I really believe that God would have us not do things simply because we will be recognized , appreciated or cherished. Whatever we find ourselves doing in the Kingdom should be done solely with the heart to impress God and make Him happy.
"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." - Galatians 1:10
So how do we live free of the need to impress people and redirect that toward the Lord ? How did I break through that need to look good before people ? One of the ways I am learning to break free from the approval of people especially in the church setting is to constantly evaluate why I am doing something and then by praying that the Lord would forgive me for any ulterior motive so that everything I do will be done to bring Him glory alone and not simply attract the approval of people. I pray that my heart would be right towards Him as I perform my assigned function. I pray that I will not do it for people but as if the Lord Himself were standing right there watching me as I did it.
Have you lived with the need to impress people ? Let me know in the comments how you are learning to overcome that.
1 comment:
Amen, Gertrude.
There is only One Whose opinion we should care about... and that's Jesus. And we already know that He loves us, and died for us while we were yet sinners. That is, while we hated him.
How much more does He love us now that He has given us hearts of flesh to love Him!
And "looking good" for Jesus means:
confessing our sin—acknowledging and owning our sin, "confess" literally means "say the same" about our sin that God does—and acknowledging our need of a savior, because we can't save ourselves,
repenting—literally "turning" from our sin, toward God, and
believing—that He is able to save us AND that He has done it… it is finished
The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me? —Psalm 118:6
Thanks for commenting on my post about The 'S' Word.
Blessings,
Jim Bob
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