Have you ever encountered someone that was just pure mean? Perhaps this person was out to get you from the very start. You may have gone out of your way at times to be nice only to be rewarded with a tongue-lashing. Maybe you even felt that you could change the situation or the person if only you were more “blank.”
If you have done your best to get along with someone, it’s probably not you that’s the issue. Sometimes there are breakdowns in communication. Sometimes there are personality conflicts. Sometimes, however, there is another issue.
There have been times in my life when I tried everything I could think of to get someone to simply stop being mean to me. I was naïve enough to let the situation get the better of me. I would be upset over it for days. It really took up a whole lot more space in my head than it should have. There was a part of me that wanted to be liked, but more than anything I just wanted a little peace. In the end, I let the dislike and the meanness of other people influence how I felt about myself.
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
Proverbs 21:10
Not everyone is wicked, but only God can change the heart of the wicked. As for the rest of those folks that just don’t seem to care for you, you cannot change them either. Not everyone is going to like you. Trying to win those folks over is a complete waste of time and energy. I could have been filling my head with praises to God for all the things He had done for me. I could have had an attitude of thanksgiving for all He had provided and for Jesus. Instead, I was self-absorbed with trying to change myself to please other folks. I really wanted their approval.
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
When we try to please another person, what we are really doing is putting more importance on their opinion than on our own or on God’s. We do need to be honest with ourselves about who we are and what we are doing, but we need to reject ideas about living to please others.
You are who God says you are. Have the confidence and the faith to be who God made you to be, and to serve God how He meant for you to serve. Let your self worth come from God.
LIFE APPLICATION
Today’s challenge is to check yourself. Ask God to show you where you have become self-absorbed. With this knowledge, take your eyes off of yourself and off of the world. Refocus on God. Focus on what He has for you to do. Place your faith in God, and not in the approval of people. Remember, He is the one you live for. He’s the one you serve. Then, ask God to use you to reach others for Him. Step out and become who God says you are.