Glory, Glory, Glory
John 5:44 You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe?
It’s really nice to reach milestones in life and then to receive some recognition for them. Graduating from school, finishing a course, gaining a degree. Yep, milestones, rights of passage, some positive reinforcement along the way, that’s not a bad thing … up to a point.
But at some point, we can get into a bit of a mutual admiration society; where recognition from other people is what starts to drive us. All of a sudden we can find ourselves seeking out the limelight and when there isn’t the recognition we think we deserve, when we don’t get the positive feedback and the pat on the back that we clearly deserve, all of a sudden, we find ourselves down in the dumps.
You see it all the time. Many companies set performance targets to motivate their sales teams to sell more. They have monthly awards and prizes and carry on with a whole lot of hoo-hah just to pump up sales. Sure, okay, to a point. But at what point do we end up stepping over the line with all of that? At what point do we start to derive our sense of worth from what other people think about us and say about us?
Honestly, if you keep on living like that, one day you wake up and realise that what you’ve become is a glory seeker. Dancing to other people’s tunes. Elated when they appreciate you, depressed when they ignore you. Is that any way to live your life? Really?
Here’s Jesus’ take on that very thing:
You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? (John 5:44)
A funny thing happens when we decide to live our lives for an audience of One, for God Himself. We stop caring so much about what other people think. Our ups and downs are no longer a reflection of the fickleness of others. And deep down in our soul, the closer we draw to Him, the more we accept His truth into our heart, the more we set our sights on pleasing God, the less insecure we end up feeling; the more contented, the more fulfilled our lives become.
And that living your life for God thing, is what the Bible refers to as worship.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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