By Men or God

Christians have become so soft, inclusive and complacent. We care about what men say about us above everything else. We wanna be judged right by men. We care about the witness of men and nothing about God’s witness. We wanna please everyone and be accepted by everyone but God.

God is the Judge of all men. He is the one with the rewards. It’s Him that we serve. What He says about us is what matters. Whatever people think about us is insignificant.

We however have a problem, we seek to be honoured by men. Being honoured by God is completely out of the picture.

God is our Heavenly Father, we belong to Him, we are His precious children. His judgement puts no pressure on us. It’s like a child trying to take its first steps. Although the baby might not have the perfect walk, they might even fall over on their second step but to the parent, this is a moment to celebrate. To the father, his child has commenced his journey and this is evidence that he will make it to the end. No matter how many times the kid falls over, the parents are excited that the kid is trying.

We ought to seek to be judged faithful by God. It doesn’t matter if you prayed for a miracle and didn’t see it manifest, or maybe you are focusing on being a more committed believer etc all these things we aspire to achieve in the Kingdom, it doesn’t bother your Father that you have failed at them. In fact, to Him, it’s not a failure if you’re out there trying to take the steps He is directing you in.

What matters is that you’re faithful and obedient to God. You won’t please God and men at the same time. It won’t work. Men set a very low standard. It’s pitiful. Why do we care about what men say? If you want to please people you’ll be aiming at nothing and hitting it every time.

You think you’re winning the race but by which standards? It doesn’t feel like you’re losing a race if no one is trying to cross the finish line. It’s like you’re winning a rat race, to whom does it matter? Is that even a victory?

When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind. ~ C. S. Lewis

Our problem is comparing ourselves to ourselves. We believe we’re doing great because there’s someone behind us. So then we must be winning. But who calibrated this scale? It’s man’s creation. We set the bar just below where we are. Sad facts.

We ought to aspire to go higher than where we are. We can do better. It’s possible.

The world has perfected fooling itself. They have become fools by comparing themselves to themselves. We cannot afford to do this. No one around you is the set standard for where you can get to or how far you can go with God.

If only we sought to be judged by God and did away with the care for man’s judgement. “What will they say? what will they think of me? what if they see me? What if it doesn’t work? But no one else has done this before…” and so on. Why do we seek honour from men? How about being honoured by God, Our Father, Sustainer of all things and Creator of Life?? Doesn’t that matter? Isn’t that important?

If we seek honour from men, how shall we believe in God? How shall we stand out in the World? How shall we step out there on God’s command? Will we ever follow God in the valley of the shadow of death? Will God say when we get to heaven, “welcome good and faithful servant, you did well with what I gave you”?

WIll your Father see you trying to get up from the floor or are you going to keep comparing yourself to people? Compare yourself to no one, God is our Judge. Care not for the judgement of men. Your life is not your own. It all belongs to God, serve Him with your life.

A million years from now, will it matter how people looked at you? What they thought of you?

Follow God, get out there on the limb, that’s where the fruit grows. You won’t find any fruit on the trunk where men are praising you. Live such that God is cheering you on.

Get out, that’s the life you signed up for, that’s the reason you are called a believer because the voices of onlookers cannot stop you from stepping out of your comfort zone or what the crowd is doing and the World says is okay.

Take the step out of the boat, don’t let your neighbours hold you back, don’t let your past define you, take the step, don’t be ruled by the majority. Go perform that miracle, conquer the world, change the course of your family, impact the world, please God, make Jesus proud.

To your Father, you haven’t arrived but are you have left. and that’s enough for Him. He will judge you faithful though men including yourself might say you failed. Man’s judgement is futile!

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. ~1Cor 4:3–4 KJV

Do you wanna be judged by men or God? Who do you want to cheer you on?