BY PASTOR SUSAN YOUNG
Our Father’s House
Put your foot down…but not with me.
Make a decision already…but learn to go with the flow.
Take some time for yourself…but be there for me.
These statements came up for consideration after listening to a podcast this week. The world is filled with mixed messages. Whether it is right for those of us who follow Christ or not, get on any social media platform, and you will find quotes to support your thoughts on any given topic.
Just because it sounds good doesn’t mean it is good. If you are not careful, you will feel as if no matter what you are doing in life, it is not the right thing. You will begin to pretzel yourself into a people pleaser, or you’ll feel that whatever works for you is right, regardless of how it makes others feel.
“Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free,” Ephesians 6:5-6, 8.
You might be thinking that you bend over backwards for others, yet no one seems to bend over backwards for you. Perhaps answering the question of whether you give to give or give to get would be helpful.
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please a man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ,” Galatians 1:10.
Is it my nature to appear as the nice guy, or am I trying to grow in Christ and walk in my full identity?
So what is it? Put your foot down or not? Make a decision or go with the flow? Take time for yourself or make time for others?
Yes and yes. If I am looking at the life of Christ, and if I am to follow his example, then I see both things happen at the right time.
I see him put his foot down, and I see him allow others to choose whether they would heed his words or not.
While the decisions may have grieved him, he did not attempt to lower the bar that was set by his word to make others comfortable. I also see him go off alone for times of prayer and rest, and he doesn’t seem to be asking anyone’s permission to do so.
Can both be true in our lives, or does it have to be one or the other?
Becoming more Christ-like takes the hard work of transformation. We must take those old mindsets and replace them with the courage to look at things objectively and decide what needs your attention, what you are assigned to do and what is out of your control. It becomes a life surrendered not to the tyranny of the urgent but to what is important. I remind myself often—is it good or is it God?
Blessings to you as you navigate the contradictions with grace and understanding.
