What you love determines what you feel shame about. If you love for others to applaud you, you will feel shame when they don’t, but if you love for men to make much of Christ you will feel shame when His name is belittled on your account.
–John Piper
We often crave the applause and admiration of others. We serve with the hope of getting a pat-on-the-back, a “job well done,” or an “attaboy” so that we feel good about ourselves. We become people-pleasers so that we can please ourselves by their applause. But as a follower of Christ, I should not be concerned about pleasing anyone but Jesus.
Unfortunately, I love myself too much.
So this sometimes becomes a seemingly impossible task.
I want to be more in love with Jesus.
More of Jesus, less of me.
He must become greater, I must become less.
He must increase, I must decrease.
I hope that with each passing day, I will love for Christ to be exalted more and more. I want to “love for men to make much of Christ.” I hope that I will love Him to a level such that I feel shame anytime His name is belittled on my account… meaning anytime that I commit any sin or refuse to obey Him as He tells me how to live for Him.
May we live in such a way to please Him and do nothing that would be out of character for Christ Himself.