Worthless Praise

4 For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! 6 As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.

1 Thessalonians 2:4-6 (NLT)

I have never considered myself to be a person with a lot of friends. That is probably because my father always told me to be truthful in every situation. The truth is not always popular but when you tell the truth you never have to worry about what you say or do. The same thing applies to a Christian’s walk; it may not be popular; but we must be honest about what God has called each of us too. Paul explains to the Thessalonians this same issue; he and the others Timothy and Silas did not come to them to be their friends and they did not come to take their money and live off of them. They came to share with them a hope for a new life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

It is nice to be told you do a good job when you share, teach or preach; but the truth is if you are doing it for the praise of man you are seeking the wrong reward. As Christians we are called to give witness to Jesus in all that we do. It is hard as individuals to take a stand for what is right if it becomes personal; in those situations it is important to understand who we really serve. We can go through life serving ourselves or others but in the end God will be the judge over every word and deed we have done or said in our life. I leave you with a simple warning do not allow the praise in this life to affect your pending reward in the next. The praise of man is temporary and can cause you to become lost in the life of the flesh seeking more and more rewards in the here and now, instead of investing in the future of promise and days spent in the Glory of God. Have a blessed day as you walk in the light of His Word.