Queen Victoria once said:
"The important thing is not what they think of me,
but what I think of them."
At first glance this statement seems kind of arrogant, don't you think?
But, hold on a minute.
Maybe Queen Victoria was actually a woman of great emotional security.
I once heard a Christian psychologist say, What you think people think about you, is usually what makes you behave the way you do."
This statement seems to be born out in politics, at least.
Look at anyone who's trying to get elected (or re-elected) to office. These people hire experts to gauge what voters are thinking of the candidates, and how they'll vote.
We humans invest a lot of time and energy in trying to get others to like us. Sometimes the energy spent is because we are insecure.
Wouldn't it be great if we could all just operate according to our convictions instead of how others will react?
(Yes, I know it's important to get along; I'm not talking about being a stubborn, pain-in-the-neck!)
But, seriously, wouldn't it be great if we said what we really feel or think?
But I'm afraid.
I'm afraid of judgment, censure, scorn.
However, it seems as if the most admired people in a community are usually the ones who have the courage to "march to their own drumbeat."
Think about the people in your life who you truly admire. They're almost always individuals with some unique style, good thinkers, secure, principled, disciplined, achievers in their own arenas. They stand out in a crowd not because they're flamboyant, but because of some inner strength.
They may possess their own insecurities, but somehow, they're able to rise above their fears and assert themselves within a group.
Many of the people I've most admired in my life have been quiet and humble, yet have possessed great inner gifts: compassion, single-minded focus on the thing that God has called them to do, wisdom, maturity, selflessness.
These are people who've struggled and grown strong because they've allowed God to do a transforming work within. Therefore, they no longer operate under the compulsions put upon them by what others think. They simply do what the Holy Spirit has imprinted on their hearts.
Years ago, as a teen, I heard a speaker say this: "The truest thing about you is what God says about you."
Wow! So obvious, yet so hard to wrap our minds around. Wouldn't it be great if we could operate every day on that truth?
What does God say about me?
That I'm loved, that I've been forgiven, that I have a place waiting for me in heaven, that God does not condemn me.
I could go on and on. Any one of the above truths takes a life-time to internalize and apply.
"The truest thing about you is what God says about you."
Do you believe that?
How does that transform the way you live each day?
"Your word is truth." (John 17:17, NIV Bible)
"The important thing is not what they think of me,
but what I think of them."
At first glance this statement seems kind of arrogant, don't you think?
But, hold on a minute.
Maybe Queen Victoria was actually a woman of great emotional security.
I once heard a Christian psychologist say, What you think people think about you, is usually what makes you behave the way you do."
This statement seems to be born out in politics, at least.
Look at anyone who's trying to get elected (or re-elected) to office. These people hire experts to gauge what voters are thinking of the candidates, and how they'll vote.
We humans invest a lot of time and energy in trying to get others to like us. Sometimes the energy spent is because we are insecure.
Wouldn't it be great if we could all just operate according to our convictions instead of how others will react?
(Yes, I know it's important to get along; I'm not talking about being a stubborn, pain-in-the-neck!)
But, seriously, wouldn't it be great if we said what we really feel or think?
But I'm afraid.
I'm afraid of judgment, censure, scorn.
However, it seems as if the most admired people in a community are usually the ones who have the courage to "march to their own drumbeat."
Think about the people in your life who you truly admire. They're almost always individuals with some unique style, good thinkers, secure, principled, disciplined, achievers in their own arenas. They stand out in a crowd not because they're flamboyant, but because of some inner strength.
They may possess their own insecurities, but somehow, they're able to rise above their fears and assert themselves within a group.
Many of the people I've most admired in my life have been quiet and humble, yet have possessed great inner gifts: compassion, single-minded focus on the thing that God has called them to do, wisdom, maturity, selflessness.
These are people who've struggled and grown strong because they've allowed God to do a transforming work within. Therefore, they no longer operate under the compulsions put upon them by what others think. They simply do what the Holy Spirit has imprinted on their hearts.
Years ago, as a teen, I heard a speaker say this: "The truest thing about you is what God says about you."
Wow! So obvious, yet so hard to wrap our minds around. Wouldn't it be great if we could operate every day on that truth?
What does God say about me?
That I'm loved, that I've been forgiven, that I have a place waiting for me in heaven, that God does not condemn me.
I could go on and on. Any one of the above truths takes a life-time to internalize and apply.
"The truest thing about you is what God says about you."
Do you believe that?
How does that transform the way you live each day?
"Your word is truth." (John 17:17, NIV Bible)
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