Friday, March 5, 2010
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and money."
~Matthew 6:24
I've never really paid an overt amount of attention to that Bible passage, even though I've heard it many times. I don't have a problem with serving God or money. That I know of. But serving others...that's something else.
I struggle with keeping people happy. And I know that I don't have to. But I do.
I have to keep my Hunny happy. My neighbours happy. My family happy. My church happy. The teachers at my kids' school happy. The women at church happy. The strangers I meet day-to-day happy. The kids who made my grade 5 & 6 years hell happy. My friends happy. The doctors happy. The textbook authors happy. God happy. My kids happy. My customers happy. My ex happy. The other school mothers happy.
I have to do it all. Do it right. Please everyone. Not because someone says so, because it is a good thing to serve others and follow the Golden Rule, but because I say so. I put this pressure on myself and it all bubbles up inside until I feel like I'm going to explode.
Right now I feel like I'm a walking ball of confusion. There is so much I want to do, so many things I should do, so much I have to do. I can't figure out which voice to follow. When I heard a voice remind me, "No one can serve two masters."
How right that is! I've been trying to keep so many people "happy" with unknown restrictions and judgements that I feel weighted down. I can not do it. I can not look to them as the answers to my problems. There is only One who can give me what I need. Only One who knows the answers. Only One who can give me the courage to be me and the peace to live it out.
So tonight I have decided to serve One Master again. As difficult as that is for me.
~Matthew 6:24
I've never really paid an overt amount of attention to that Bible passage, even though I've heard it many times. I don't have a problem with serving God or money. That I know of. But serving others...that's something else.
I struggle with keeping people happy. And I know that I don't have to. But I do.
I have to keep my Hunny happy. My neighbours happy. My family happy. My church happy. The teachers at my kids' school happy. The women at church happy. The strangers I meet day-to-day happy. The kids who made my grade 5 & 6 years hell happy. My friends happy. The doctors happy. The textbook authors happy. God happy. My kids happy. My customers happy. My ex happy. The other school mothers happy.
I have to do it all. Do it right. Please everyone. Not because someone says so, because it is a good thing to serve others and follow the Golden Rule, but because I say so. I put this pressure on myself and it all bubbles up inside until I feel like I'm going to explode.
Right now I feel like I'm a walking ball of confusion. There is so much I want to do, so many things I should do, so much I have to do. I can't figure out which voice to follow. When I heard a voice remind me, "No one can serve two masters."
How right that is! I've been trying to keep so many people "happy" with unknown restrictions and judgements that I feel weighted down. I can not do it. I can not look to them as the answers to my problems. There is only One who can give me what I need. Only One who knows the answers. Only One who can give me the courage to be me and the peace to live it out.
So tonight I have decided to serve One Master again. As difficult as that is for me.
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5 comments:
Good for you! Keep at it and you'll get there. I loved the boundaries book "When to say yes and when to say no". It taught me that making people happy is not our responsibility. We only find that true happiness in God's presence.
thanks, Andy. I'm hoping my head knowledge (that is, not having to please others) will turn into life knowledge (that is, actually not trying to please everyone!) one day! :) Sometimes it feels like I'm trying to learn the same thing over and over again.
The sermon today at our church made me think of this and my own struggle with pleasing everyone and how I rely on others' perception of me. We discussed Romans 6 and how we are transformed through Christ and are made new. Our belief and commitment to Him makes us a new person; we are not meant to keep doing what we used to do. I am no longer the person I used to be, therefore I do not have (and should not) keep doing what I am used to doing.
This is not to say it is an easy transformation. It will take years to reverse my thinking and how I live my life. After all, I have been doing the same thing for so many years so it is easy to fall back on my old habits. Just like losing weight will not happen over night, I will not be able to immediately stop thinking a particular way. The good news is God's grace. He continues to love me and strengthen me. It is through Him I will successfully change. I often forget this as I try to do it all on my own. One day at a time, and I will eventually get there.
I loves you and hope you are encouraged too!
I am encouraged! Thank-you, Julie! I hadn't thought of applying Romans 6 to this, but you're right; we are not the same person, we shouldn't think they way we used to. Too bad the transformation wasn't an overnight success! It's an even better thing that God doesn't get sick of us falling and picking ourselves back up again!
This was a very good post.
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