popularity, fame, applause…

for some people, all that matters is popularity.  all that matters is fame.  for some people, all that matters is applause. how do other people think about me?  what do they think about me? all that matters is how do i look to everybody else?  image is everything.  if you live that way, you are at the mercy of everybody else's judgments.  if they think i’m a loser, i must be a loser!  if they think i'm a dork, i must be a dork!  i don't want to live that way, do you? 

you don't have to live that way!  GOD never intended for you to have to live that way.  HE says, “what are you listening to them for?  they're just mortal men.  I’m the one that counts.  they are no more enduring than grass.”  fame doesn't last.  if you live your life just to be famous, just to get your picture on the cover of the rolling stone you may get it there once and from there it's all downhill.  today's hero, tomorrow's zero.  how many people have been on the cover of people magazine five years ago and you don't even know where they are today?  even a year ago?  fame is so fleeting and so fickle it is a lousy thing to live for.  it makes life miserable.  you don't have to live that way.

galatians 1.10 (niv), am i now trying to win the approval of men or of GOD?  if i were still trying to please men, i would not be a servant of CHRIST.  paul says his goal in life is to please GOD, not men.  he says i have a choice.  i can choose whether i'm going to live for the applause of GOD or the applause of men. who are you more interested in pleasing?  the crowd or GOD?  he's saying you can't seek the approval of both at the same time. you've got to decide who am i trying to impress? 

just a thought from the front porch…