Reactions

Part 4

To seek the honor of man, or even to receive honor, or even to be the least bit interested in what others say or think about you is sin and cuts you off completely from reacting to things in the best way possible; it cuts you off from reacting in a way that is acceptable to God.

Seeking to be thoroughly saved from this very common, persistent sin of honor-seeking is, no doubt, one of the wisest things a person can do. It would be hard to find a more relevant subject, since we are usually in contact with people on a daily basis and, thus, are exposed to the expression of their opinions and can be tempted to be concerned about what they might think of us.

When you have been saved from honor-seeking to such a degree that you are uninterested in people’s opinions and criticism (except for what you can glean from it that will aid in the continuing work of your own salvation), then you have a tremendous help always to react in a godly way. Then your peace, joy, and happiness will never be disturbed—to the glory of God.

If one person thinks this about me and another thinks that, tell me, my friend, you who show such a keen interest—does this add to or detract from, or change in any way at all, the testimony of God about me? Do you think His view of me and my life will be influenced in any way by their opinions or comments? The answer, of course, is no. It is God alone who will judge us and reward us and assign us our place in eternity! In other words, the opinion of man means nothing whatsoever! Let people say and think whatever they like; it can almost be regarded as idle talk.

Consequently, my friend, let us react in this good and practical way: “He or she has said this or that about me. Well, that is their business, and I refuse to get involved in that. What they have said about me will absolutely not change God’s thoughts about me or about anything else! I am who I am, regardless of what other people say about me. God does not make mistakes, either in His judgment of a matter or in His actions.”

Perhaps I am tempted to think, “They probably think I am seeking my own in what I am doing now.” If I have been saved from seeking honor, it is not difficult to overcome this temptation immediately with something like this: “Yes, but if I am not seeking my own, then everything is in order on my part; they can think what they like.” My joy will be twofold. First, I rejoice because I am not seeking my own. Second, it is a delight to know, for certain, that the countless thoughts of people do not affect God’s view of the matter.

You are tempted to think that “they might think that I have high thoughts about myself.” But then you reply within, “Yes, perhaps they do. How sad for them. As for me, how pleasant it is to know with certainty that my thoughts about myself are very small.”

What is the best way of reacting to accidents and death? These areas are essentially the same as any other. To be able to react in a godly way, you must of course, have become godly through God’s salvation. An ungodly person reacts in an ungodly way, whereas a godly person reacts in a godly way. In other words, it is necessary for you to have partaken of a thorough salvation in order to be able to react as you ought to.

The Scriptures say, “If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?” Amos 3:6. “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matt. 10:29-30. When we relate this to the fact that God knows what works together for our best and acts accordingly, we must necessarily conclude that no matter how sad or unwelcome the calamity, it is all the best that things happened as they did. And who would oppose what an all-wise, all-good God thinks is best!?

In order to be able to react in this way, you must—absolutely, from the heart—forever have ceased to rely on your own reasoning, and God must have molded you to such an extent that your mind has become yielding, humble, and meek. Then you will preserve that deep, inner peace and rest under all circumstances, no matter how painful the situation might be.

And, if any of our loved ones get into serious trouble, become unfaithful, or fall away from God, it is quite natural to think, “Oh, if only I had been able to keep this from happening!” But, with the understanding that God Himself—whose love is perfect—has not kept it from happening, we can be at rest in God, even in such an acutely painful situation, even though the sorrow is unspeakably great. For even with all our anxiety, we cannot make one hair black or white.

May this indispensable, all-encompassing, indescribably effective truth always be clear and living for us—namely, that my reaction is the single determining factor of my happiness!