Who are you aiming to be considered by?

One word to focus on today: Consider.

“Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” – Psalm 13:3

“And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” – Job 1:8

“What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” – Psalm 8:4

If you’re anything like me, you like to be “considered.” It’s human nature. And also the way that God built us. As I grow older (I turn 30 in a couple short months), I’ve realized that I’ve spent a great deal of my life trying to be considered. By “considered” I mean, “be payed attention to, affirmed, recognized, acknowledged, being made mindful of, etc.” During much of my life, there’s been a consistent hunger for praise, acknowledgement, appreciation, an “atta-boy;” a pat-on-the-back. Plaques, framed pieces of paper, medals, awards, accomplishments, etc. We want to be noticed both when we’re doing well, and when we’re suffering. “Look at everything I’ve done! Look at how awesome I am” or “look at me—look at how bad I have it, consider my painful situation.”

The desire to be considered isn’t wrong. The key is to shift the direction of the desire or aim for it to come from THE right person. This is one reason why the Bible puts so much emphasis on aiming to do good deeds (i.e. prayer, fasting, giving away your possessions, working hard at your job, caring for the spiritual needs of your family, etc.) in secret, not before man (though sometimes that’s necessary):

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:5-6

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:16-18

22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. – Colossians 3:22-25

If you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time, you probably already know much of this, but I think it takes time (like most everything else) for God to knead it into us like dough. Some will struggle with this less than others, depending on their personality, upbringing, and just general life experiences. But let’s face it, we all want to be praised by someone. It’s ok to get praise from spouses, parents, bosses, leaders, etc., but their praise or lackthereof, should not make or break us and their consideration should not be our highest aim. God’s praise should be of highest esteem and regard and His praise and consideration should be the aim or motivation behind our goodworks. Many of the goodworks are done towards people, but even the positive effects of those good works on the people you pour into should not be at the apex of your motivation for doing it. People are flimsy and basing one’s happiness, contentment, or motivation in well-doing on the “being considered by” or response of others can be (and will be) at some point detrimental to you.

If you’re like me, you are still going to experience (at the very least) microcosms of this disappointment or painfulness—even in the midst of aiming to be only considered by God—until you’re called Home. And some of us will experience it in greater or lesser varying degrees than others. But I just say to that, take heart.

In the case of Job, I find it encouraging that God sees Job and even brags about him. Job is a righteous man. Wouldn’t that be good to receive that type of recognition from God, to see your life as pleasing to Him? The Pslams are peppered with the speakers praying and longing for God to consider them. On that Day, we all want to hear “well done good and faithful servant” and to receive crowns that we can turn around and offer back as worship to God. That should be our aim. If it’s our aim, we will not be crippled by a lack of it from man. Or even when something worse happens—displeasure from people. Most of us will have this kneaded into us through hardship, discipline, and trial. It may be a painful process, but a good one nonetheless.

A good gauge for if this is a big struggle: Do you feel disappointed when you don’t receive affirmation or recognition, to the point where you feel crippled, depressed, or jaded? Do you have an “I love me wall” (an area with all your awards, trophies, ribbons, certificates) in your home or office that would just be difficult to part ways with if Jesus asked you to? Knowing myself, I refuse to put up an I Love Me Wall in my house or office. I have 2 college degrees that have been sitting in a nice big frame for the last 5 years, collecting dust next to a book case in our guest bedroom. Those two pieces of paper were expensive and a lot of work! Plus, do you know how many parking tickets I had to deal with throughout the years of working on those things???

It just helps me “aim” to seek affirmation from Jesus by practically not having an I Love Me Wall. Praise of man has been a fuel for most of the things I’ve done or sought to do in life, and so my goal is to get free of that. The goal is not to become a “rebel” and just say, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me,” but rather the aim is to most-care about what Jesus thinks. It’s right to encourage, exhort, and affirm one another in the Church (especially in marriage and especially if it’s your spouse’s love language), but just don’t let it make or break you. I want to have a confidence and a steadfastness in who Jesus says I am and what he thinks of me, so that regardless of what I do or don’t receive from man, I’m not shaken.

And lastly, it’s ultimately about God’s glory. We want to experience approval from our Heavenly Father, but the ultimate goal is for the universe to see how great Jesus is and to consider Him. That He would become greater and we would become less. Oh, and if you’re In Christ, God the Father already looks on you with great pleasure—despite your continued sinning and regardless of your good works.