Seek Your Commendation from God

Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.  For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. (2 Cor. 10:17-18)
​

Living in the technological and information age has its advantages and its disadvantages.  We live in a time and age where many feel the pressure and temptation to be a “social influencer.”  Thus, many will take to some form of social media platform with the desire to be heard, to shape public opinion.  We all have this desire to be thought highly of in our own respective circles, among our own peers, whether that be among the professional/white collar class or among the gangbanger/drug dealer class.  We all want people to think better of us and not less of us.  Trust me when I say the irony of me writing this short article and posting it on the internet is not lost on me.  Because of the amount of writing and posting I do, I spend a great deal of time evaluating and then re-evaluating my own motives.  Why do I do what I do?  Why do I write?  Why do I post?  This is where passages like 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 can be great reminders of where our approval and commendation must come from.  “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.  For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”  In the end, we must ever remember that it really does not matter what others think of us.  It doesn’t matter what other’s opinion is of us.  All that matters is what God thinks of us and that God is pleased with us.  Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).  When we live for the approval or commendation of people, we are setting ourselves up for failure because people will always disappoint us and we can never truly nor fully live up to the expectations of others.  But God will never disappoint us, and what God expects of us is repentance and faith.  So long as we are trusting in Christ alone for our eternal security, we are completely forgiven of all our sins, clothed in Christ’s perfect righteousness, and are in right standing before God.  Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.  
​