"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." ~Galatians 1:10~
Sometimes I really do fear that I do what I do to make people happy instead of to make God happy. Am I going to Texas to be a "good Northwestern student"? Am I going to Guatemala to prove to people that I wasn't lying four years ago? Do I read my Bible because it's what my friends expect to see me doing? Am I a youth ministry minor because that's what my pastor told me I'd be good at? Of course not! but sometimes that's how it feels.
Today in my Christian Education class we discussed roles of the Holy Spirit. One that really caught my eye was that the Holy Spirit reveals to us what Jesus wants to be known (John 16: 13/14). It hit me that my actions are not the only thing that makes up my faith and I started thinking about all the times that I have gone on theological tangents in my head (my thoughts are obviously not an act to please people if they are not voiced) and the time I have spent in prayer (also generally not voiced to my fellow human beings). Then tonight I began reading the book of Philippians. Chapter 1 verse 15 talks about people's reasons for preaching; "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill." Which brings me back to the question in Galatians.
All of these questions flooding through my head about why I live the way I live and Im 31 hours away from leaving on my first trip. My prayer has become the song above as well as the first few verses of Philippians 2.
"Be like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"
It's hit me that in order to gain the attitude of Jesus we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the thoughts we need to have and the ways we need to live. My Christian Education teacher, Jackie Smallbones, told us today that 'the Holy Spirit is to us today what Jesus was to the people he taught when he was living on Earth'.
Only the LORD can enable me to live and work for Him and not man, and I pray that I have that attitude as I leave to serve the people of Lindale, Texas. I pray that God would remove my thoughts, my complaints and my words from me and 'steal my show' so that people can only see Him.
My challenge to you is to stop and think about who is on center stage of your show. Why do you live the way you do? Are you living for you? other people? God?
My challenge to you is to stop and think about who is on center stage of your show. Why do you live the way you do? Are you living for you? other people? God?
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men"
Colossians 3:23
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