Day 1934 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.


Proverbs 29:25 NIV

This may seem kind of like circling back to something we talked about not too awful long ago, but it's the other side of it. A couple of weeks ago we were talking about getting back to fearing the Lord and appreciating His power in our lives. Since we as humans always like to do the exact opposite of what anyone else tells us to do, we decided to try a different option. And it's not done much for us.

We're terrified of others. Not necessarily in a physical meaning of the word. But emotionally, mentally. We're terrified of others not liking us. We're scared of them not approving of how we live our lives. We spend so much time worrying about trying to never let anyone else down that we forget everything else. While we're busy trying to please everyone else, we're slowly losing sight of the people that God made us to be.

In yesterday's post we discussed the importance of continuing to press on toward something better than all this. I think this idea really ties into that because this is one of those things that can keep us from trying to learn and grow. As this verse puts it, fear of man is nothing but a trap. It's this lie that we allow ourselves to believe that ends up keeping us from really living. It keeps us from enjoying life, trying new things, and worst of all, focusing on living for God.

I guess we've gotten it in our minds that we just have to secure the approval and appreciation of everyone around us. Not really sure where that came from or why we took off in that direction, but as I said, it's not gonna do much for us. This whole worldly fascination with popularity and acceptance has become one of the biggest stumbling blocks ever.

When we're scared of those around us, we only do what we think they will approve of. We only say what they want us to so that we're sure they'll agree with us. We eventually begin to think like they think because we're doing nothing but living a carbon copy of their lives. Folks, that's a pretty pitiful way to spend our one go around this life thing.

Truth is that nobody can really do anything to us that's so bad that we should live in fear of them. What, are they gonna judge us? Ouch. Are they going to look down on us or call us names? How terrible! I can't imagine the horror of someone thinking I'm weird because I don't do what they want me to do. Hope I can sleep tonight! We need to sit down and ask ourselves what really matters to us, what will make us better, and what we're following in this life.

People will lead us astray. They will keep us down and convince us to lower our standards because they choose to do so. They can and will take advantage of any power that we give them. So don't give it to them. Don't live your life like you have anything to prove to anyone else. You just don't. People are going to like you, and others won't. Some will agree with your thoughts and beliefs, other may not.

At the end of the day, we answer to God not anybody else. So we don't need to live these lives thinking that anyone around us has a say in God's plans for us. We don't need to buy this madness that other people like you and I are somehow more important or more powerful. It just doesn't make any sense, and it simply isn't true. We need to trust in God, live for Him, and be the people He made us to be. It just doesn't really matter if anyone else doesn't like or understand it. We're not here to please them. Please never forget that!

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