Striving for Christ

 

Striving for Christ

by Erin Fuller 

One more like. One more follow. One more compliment. 

Social media has cultivated an attitude in us that causes us to care so much about what others think about us. If we’re not worried about that, we’re obsessed with trying to impress them. We are obsessed with like counts, flattering comments, and how many followers we’re up to. 

Recently, I read a book titled “Things that Matter” by Joshua Bender. In this book, the author deals with this topic -“overcoming applause.”  While social media is a tremendous tool in many ways, it often distracts us from the most important things. At the end of your life, it won’t matter how many subscribers you had, the aesthetics of your photos, or how many likes you had - the only thing that will matter is your relationship with Christ and what you accomplished for His glory.

 All that we do should be done for the glory of God. As Ephesians 6:6 says, “not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God out of the soul.”  As humans, it is so easy to become distracted by meaningless things. We become jealous of others, and that jealousy leads us to childish attempts to mimic their actions, hoping to be applauded and praised.

God created us to crave acceptance and desire to be wanted, with intentions of filling that void. Sadly, we often complicate this by attempting to fill ourselves with anything and everything except Christ. We were made to crave God’s love, yet we seek the love of others instead. 

In all honesty, this is something I have struggled with. While this is easy to write, it’s harder to live out. As I’ve worked through this, I’ve found it essential to knowing your identity in Christ. A verse that tremendously helped me has been Galatians 1:10, which reads “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” This verse proclaims to us that our desire for applause from others is not consistent with being a child of God, or as Paul wrote “servant of Christ.” Our goal as Christians is striving to live for the One who first loved us. 

Attempting to find approval in everyone’s eyes is utterly impossible. There will always be someone who looks down at you - no matter how hard you try.  At the end of the day, that’s not what matters. Think about it - Jesus was perfect, but people hated him. What truly matters is being led by the Holy Spirit, and being obedient to his voice. His approval on your life is the ultimate opinion. When He speaks, listen. Where He leads, follow. When we determine to follow Jesus - instead of following the crowd, tends, family, or friends - that is when we find true joy + satisfaction. 

News flash - being praised is not wrong. The fact of the matter is, it’s actually a great thing. In Proverbs, we read “kind words are like honey.” Kindness is always in order. However, when we are constantly looking for opportunities for things that we can accomplish, simply to receive praise from others, that is when it becomes a slippery slope. Once we get started, it doesn’t stop, until we intentionally recognize our weakness. The simplest acts of kindness - giving a glass of cold water - in Christ’s name is so powerful. 

As already mentioned, it doesn’t matter what “they” think, because you are already so loved and adored. There is nothing in this world that can separate us from the love of God. Simply forget about their opinions,  and strive to live for Christ. In addition, people will fail to recognize the things you do anyways. The Bible tells us not only to do things to God’s glory, but whatever we do on this earth - we will be rewarded for it. 

In conclusion, instead of constantly searching for man’s approval, choose to serve God and trust Him with the end results. Overcome the temptation to always live for others' applause, and embrace the love that has already been bestowed upon you.