Being Unpopular

Before we can truly follow God's plan for us, we need to determine who it is we want to please. It's human nature to want people to admire us and to be held in high esteem, but seeking the praise of others can be a huge pitfall. It can lead to sin.

"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).

The Bible shows us over and over again that following God isn't always popular. Moses wasn't well-liked in Egypt, and even the Israelites complained about him. Most of the prophets, like Jeremiah and Elijah, remained largely unpopular. In fact, that's one of the reasons Jonah ran in the other direction when God told him to go to Nineveh. He didn't want to be scorned in Israel for going to Nineveh or persecuted in Nineveh for delivering a message from God to these pagan Assyrians. Even Jesus was unpopular with the Jewish establishment, and the crowds that once loved Him, turned against Him in the end.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blesssed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12).

I can remember times in my own life, when I was following what I thought God wanted me to, and someone took it all wrong. This is often true, even in my blogging. Just last Sunday, a pastor I don't know anything about took the message personally and felt I was pointing a finger at him and his church. I'm guessing the Holy Spirit was convicting him of something, but it wasn't me. I just write what I feel led to do, and I've been humbled and awed over and over again by what happens. I'm a just a very ordinary, unremarkable person, but I serve an extraordinary God.

"The truth is we only truly love the people in this world when we simultaneously risk unpopularity" (Mark Steele, Christianish).

 I find one of the benefits of growing older is that I care less and less what people think of me and desire more and more to please God. As someone once said, "The problems of old age offer the final opportunity to rely on God." I'm finding this truer all the time. We all should live to please the Lord first and foremost. Serving Him is so much more important than anything else.

"Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you" (1Samuel 13:5).