"How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?" // John 5:44
About this time every Lent, I’m hitting a wall. The newness of new disciplines have worn off, I’ve become bored of recognizing my own sins, and my attempts at fasting continue to prove pathetic. It becomes ever more tempting to not pay much more attention to Lent; I’ll just continue to shuffle along til Holy Week.
That is until I sit with these words from Jesus today.
How can I believe if I’m focusing on trying to get praise from those surrounding me instead of the only God? I honestly don’t know.
But I can tell you that on a daily basis I am more concerned about being accepted and praised by those around me than by the only God. I can tell this by how I use my time, what I choose to do, how and who I love, and even what I think about. I make these choices very much in light of what kind of reaction they will get from those around me. Even more damning is the fact that I make choices on what I believe will be the reactions of people nowhere near me! People who do not know me, who may not even know I exist, or sometimes just the general culture that surrounds us is who I’m trying to impress with my daily thoughts and decisions.
My faith is very much made up of my daily choices and thoughts. Where is room for my own faith to grow and develop, for my relationship with Jesus to be intimate and unique if I spend my time and actions trying to earn the praise of other people instead of the only God?
In what one place can I choose God's voice over the voices of others?
Choose God's voice. // Christy IsingerClick to tweet
Christy Isinger is a cradle Catholic, wife, and mother of five teenagers from western Canada. During the short Canadian summers she tries to garden and grow flowers, while in the long cold winters she reads a lot of books, writes, and homeschools. Her Substack newsletter can be found at christyisinger.substack.com.
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