Have your own desires ever been self-destructive? Any addictive behaviors, substances or relationships? How did you treat those who tried to help you? What saved you from completely destroying yourself with these “hand-made idols”? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1256).
But
if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your
ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will
serve the LORD."
(Joshua
24:15 NIV).
Am
I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I
trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I
would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10).
Meekness
Those
who trust in God are “meek and humble.” Jesus modeled meekness
and humility, not by submitting to authority or domination of others,
but through his humble service to God. Meekness doesn’t mean we let
everybody beat on us or that we don’t struggle for success in
achieving important goals. It means that we should have the courage
to look within ourselves and ask, “How have I measured up to the
standards of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? How does my life look
from his perspective? What is the degree of my success? Christ
certainly was rebuffed by many people, but he reached out to the most
unsavory of all the people he could possibly find in the Holy Land –
the worst ones. Quite often the people we considered the most
antagonistic or the most rejected might be the ones who are most
uncertain and hungry for an element of Christian love. The simple
things prove to be a learning process for us as Christians. We should
emulate Christ by embracing courage and strength, but with an absence
of pride. (NIV Lessons from Life Bible: Personal
Reflections with Jimmy Carter, page 1082)
Unquestionably
the greatest temptation – the greatest idol – in my life has been
the desire (even the lust) for people to love and like me. Many times
I have striven to perform the role of reconciler out of a desire to
be liked by people on both sides of an issue rather than out of some
vaulted desire for peace. The simple unadulterated truth of the
matter is that conflict is an inherent aspect of life and cannot be
avoided in any case (whether one grovels as a spineless wonder or
not). We may look askance at Paul’s declaration that he does not
seek to please people....but Christ. But really as human beings we
are way out there in the blue where the counsel of our conscience
requires obedience even in the absence of definitive proof,
consensus, or endorsement by popular vote. Thus as Jimmy Carter
counsels we need to embrace courage and strength, but with an absence
of pride. Or as Martin Luther said in effect if not verbatim: "Here
I stand. I can do no other". Sometime or other in some way or
other, we must be honest with ourselves and others in stating and
living flat-out what we truly believe. It would be a major tragedy
to live out our lives and go to the grave in craven cowardice.
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