Fearlessly Courageous
From the Desk of Dennis Piller
Our worth is based on our birth.
You would think at some point we would arrive beyond that battle with needing man’s acceptance. I am not talking about the wrong attitude of ” I don’t care”. or I could care less what you think! I think we can get cynical and that is a different hurdle of strongholds we place around ourselves to protect us from people and their opinions.
We all want to be recognized for something. The more insecure we are the more we crave it, like an elixir to happiness. But one will never find it there. “through Christ alone”. and “For we are more than conquerors through him who loves us” Romans 8:37
It requires a good bit of humility to let a lack of appreciation go by without. a rebuttal. a sarcastic comment, an outburst or explosion or just caving into the pressure of doing something you know is questionable or even wrong just to be accepted. I think it also depends on the day, our health, and the frequency of the occurrence. They all add fuel to the fire of acceptance and I think the spirit of offense.
I have seen, especially younger people, fall into terribly wrong circumstances and they don’t even realize they are being manipulated by the beliefs and attitudes of others. I think this condition goes along with being a bit naive and immature, and how do you help someone who just doesn’t see it? It is almost like a disease that has infected their psyche. It is as serious as any addiction and as subtle as a snake.
And I understand that a piece of this is about respect. When we do things for others, common civility begs for some recognition some level of appreciation and when we don’t get it…even though we say nothing, there is the danger of the spirit of resentment laying a foundation, fueled by anger, and our thoughts run rampant …. thoughts that are hurtful…attitudes that have become inflamed because emotions have taken on this insult, this deliberate oversite, snub or even worse.
We must come to the place of the realization that our worth is based on our birth. When our thoughts and emotions are not anchored in Christ…In His word…In the love he gave asking nothing in return, then we have slipped over to the dimension of the flesh. We have walked out from under the covering of the Holy Spirit. We have wandered into the pasture of not just wanting that acceptance, or appreciation but needing it…demanding it inside…justifying we’ve earned it…deserve it! And the kindness of any part of the initial act has turned to resentment, hostility, and thoughts of how to get back at them. Or how you’ll never do that again. Or just ignoring them with this simmering …festering seed, as if we needed their approval, or that recognition to feel good about ourselves and whatever act of kindness you extended. As if? No, we actually believe we do deserve it but are blind to the fact that we have become addicted to needing it.
But where are the Christ-centered thoughts? Where are the prayer offerings that something might be troubling them, and/or they were just blind to your actions? What about praying for them because if this is happening to you, it is surely happening to others, and they need an intercessor. A friend who will stand with them even when they might not deserve it in the natural. But I think this begs for an even deeper truth of what we could do further and deeper in what we know about God and the filter we are using to combat this lifelong battle we ALL struggle with.
Dr. Paul Chappell said, “You couldn’t be any more loved by God than you are right now. Does that statement strike a nerve of unrest with you? It’s absolutely true.
We all love affirmation. We all desire significance and recognition. We all benefit from being encouraged by others. And yet, this silent struggle for approval can often become an overriding motivation that keeps us on an unpredictable roller coaster of insecurity and instability.
In truth, we crave the acceptance and approval of men, but we need it from God. We long to know we matter to others, but we forget how much we matter to Him. We desire the approval and favor of our peers, but we lose sight of the approval and favor we already have in Christ. While we tend to seek these things from men, ultimately, God is the only One in whom we can find our deepest desires completely fulfilled!”
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:6
The fact that each of us was chosen…think of that! God chose you even in your sin, knowing every mistake you would ever make, to still love you, bless you, accept you, and pour his Holy Spirit into you. Isn’t it amazing that we have this lifelong battle with craving the acceptance of man… Man and their acceptance that fades with the day, the week the year to be forever forgotten but we fail to understand the only worth we need is what we have due to the grace of an almighty loving father who LOVES YOU.
“When God’s grace, as opposed to our need for acceptance, becomes our motivator for service, everything changes. We serve because we ARE accepted rather than to gain acceptance—and it makes all the difference in the world”.
It begins with repentance and asking God to open your eyes to the spirit of pride, acceptance, and the idol of looking to others for our sense of worth, affirmation, and not God. Stop It! Lay it on the altar of Grace. There is yet another filter in assessing how this may have been affecting us unaware. When was the last time you reveled in the joy of His acceptance or has it been robbed because of our own apathy or in grasping for the acceptance of others? God will talk with you…just stop and sit awhile with him.
Tauren Wells. Citizen of Heaven
