Beware of deriving too much of your value from the praises of people. Actually, I’m beginning to believe that deriving ANY of your value from the praises of people is like having cancer of the soul. Eventually it will catch up with you.
But some of you still don’t believe that people are fickle and they can shift on you. Not my friend, you say, she would never assassinate my character in gossip. Not my buddy, you’re thinking, he’ll always be there to back me up. Are you sure?
Here’s an example from politics. During his first term as president, George W. Bush had the highest approval rating of any president since the system was created (92%). Higher than Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Obama. During his second term, Bush’s approval rating dropped to be the lowest of all time (19%). Lower than Truman, Carter, and Nixon. Positive or negative opinions of Bush aside, I think those ratings say more about us as people than they do about Bush as president.
How about an even better example from scripture?
The final week of Jesus’ life was an emotional and relational rollercoaster. The same crowd that was shouting, “Hosanna!” on Sunday was shouting “Crucify Him!” on Friday. When he was the most emotionally vulnerable and he really needed his friends, they were busy sleeping, arguing, abandoning, and denying that they ever knew him.
Jesus was able to keep going and complete his mission because his value and affirmation didn’t come from people. His value came from spending time with his Heavenly Father in solitude. Also, he knew what was on the table, in terms of his values and calling. He wasn’t about to back down on the truth or change his convictions because people disagreed with him.
Yes, relationships are still worth it even though people are fickle and flawed. A word of caution, though: don’t make their words of praise what you live for. Next week they could be telling a different story. Only God doesn’t change like the shifting, fickle shadows.