Daily Power #247

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. (1 Thess. 4:1 NLT)

Growing up in the eighties, I enjoyed not only really cool music but really cool fashion. If you had a pair of Levi’s and a colored knit Izod with the collar popped, you had a real shot at the cool table in the cafeteria.

Unfortunately, Izod shirts were crazy expensive. And because our family couldn’t fit one into our budget, I was exiled to the unpopular table. That was, until my mom got creative. At a garage sale, she found a pair of used Izod socks, each sporting a perfect little green alligator—the much-coveted symbol of potential popularity.

Mom purchased two label-less knit shirts, cut off the socks’ gators, and sewed them onto the shirts. Voila! Instant fake Izods. The plan would have worked if she hadn’t sewed them slightly crooked and in the wrong place, something the authentic-Izod kids immediately discovered and ridiculed me for.

Now that we’re grown up, not much has changed. We still feel immense pressure to fit in. But we have to remember that God didn’t call us to fit in; he called us to stand out. Becoming obsessed with what people think about you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about you.

Whatever you do today, live for an audience of one. If God is pleased with you, it doesn’t matter what people think about you.

Power Lift

Lord, I don’t care what others think of me as long as I please you. Thank you for loving me and giving me the power to overcome my need to please those around me.