Expectations from God versus People
We submit our lives to someone who has higher authority and power than any other person here on earth.
Do we sometimes care too much about what other people think of us? It's actually very natural for us to care about how our fellow human beings view us. We want to be accepted. We want to feel like we belong. And we also want to make sure that we all have a safe world to live in by ensuring that good accountability is present. Caring about what other people think plays a crucial role in shaping our society for the better. It's no a secret that we tend to behave better when we know that people are watching. If we totally didn't care about what other people thought, we would end up hurting each other on a regular basis with disastrous consequences for our society.
So, it's important for us to take other people's thoughts into consideration when it comes to how we behave in this world. But I wonder: do we sometimes care too much about what other people think of us, especially when it comes to superficial things like what brand of clothes we wear or what kind of car we drive? We certainly want to take other people's thoughts into consideration so that we can live properly in society. But at the same time, we need to be careful not to make people's opinions of us the driving force behind how we choose to live our lives.
Plenty of people have expectations of us such as our parents, our bosses, our spouses, and our friends. Some of these expectations might be good and worthwhile for us to consider, especially if they are in alignment with Biblical principles. But there can be times when these expectations may not be rooted in Scripture. They may even go blatantly against what the Bible teaches. We need to be aware of all of these expectations made of us and where they're ultimately rooted. We cannot and should not be simply driven by the expectations of other people.
As Christians, we instead submit our lives to someone who has higher authority and power than any other person here on earth. We submit to the Lord Jesus Christ and His expectations for our lives. Paul wrestled with this very issue when he wrote his letter to the Galatians. He wrote these inquiring words: "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10 ESV). As a follower of Jesus, Paul knew that His ultimate goal was to please His God and Savior. It wasn't to adhere to the expectations of other people, no matter how good their intentions and motivations might be. And this is especially true if there was a conflict between what people expected of Paul and what God expected of him. In scenarios like this, it was more important for Paul to submit to the expectations of God than to the expectation of others.
There's a time and place for us to consider the views, thoughts, and opinions of others. Our society is better for it because we keep each other accountable. But at the same time, we can't just let the opinions of others fully dictate how we live our lives without much of a thought. In the end, it's far more important for us to care about what God thinks of us than what others think of us.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
