The Better Place To Be

I admit – I like to be patted-on-the-back once-in-a-while. Truthfully, more often than not I like for this to occur. However, I like to think I am reasonable about it. If I do not deserve praise, then I should not receive any. But if I should deserve praise and not receive any, a part of my ego feels slighted. It makes me second guess my work, talent, or skill whether I am on the job, at play, or serving The Lord. God is addressing this issue with me.

There was a poster I read just recently on Facebook that prompted this lesson from the Holy Spirit. The poster read:  “Stop waiting for people to recognize how hard you work, God sees the sacrifices you make and will bless you accordingly.”

In order for this to work, I have got to put forth more of an effort in making people my work-field with a harvest for The Lord in mind. The idea is that my audience is only One – God. The Holy Spirit taught me that if I keep God as my Audience of One, not humanity (non-believers and believers alike), then He will take care of me. My popularity will be in His hands, my personal marketing will be under His direction, my time, treasure and talent will be under His watchful eyes and control. All these things and more are best in His care, not mine.

I believe a healthy lifestyle consists of seeking to please and be at peace with one’s superiors. However, I do not believe that this same healthy lifestyle can be healthy if it is consumed by this one goal. This is because our friends, co-workers, supervisors, bosses, CEOs and the like are all human……. flawed. I need a supernatural audience, a Heavenly rewarder. I need someone I can aim to please and be at peace with while knowing the benefits are far greater than anything anyone could ever imagine. I find this in Christ Jesus. Paul tells us in the Book of Hebrews “…He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) This mentality, this Audience-of-God focus instead of a people-pleasing focus is The Better Place To Be.