Scripture
Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
~Galatians 1:10, NLT
Quote
I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.
~Original Source Unknown
Ministry can be addictive. I saw this is others long before I realized it could happen to me. We enjoy being needed. You might say, “we need to be needed.” Ministry is also risky business; you never know how people are going to respond. In my experience, those I have done the least for are the ones who appreciate me most. Every pastor knows the stress of dealing with needy people; those who expect much and give little or in most cases nothing in return. Sometimes a simple “thank you,” would be nice but some do not even give you thanks. I had a person get offended because I missed her knee surgery. I was with my mother at the time: it was the week she passed from this life. I don’t have the space to list all the things I did for this woman. To my knowledge, which depends a lot on memory, she never thanked me one time in word or deed.
Hey what she did is mild compared to others. As shepherds, we are commanded and graced by God to love the flock but that doesn’t meant the flock will always love us in return. Paul loved Corinth: he founded the church. He was their father in the faith but they became highly critical of the Apostle and said hateful things about his appearance and his preaching. When I get discouraged, I read 2 Corinthians 11 where Paul makes himself so vulnerable to the Corinthians. If the great Apostle could be hurt by an unappreciative congregation so can you and I. When you labor and sweat in their behalf and your reward is betrayal–it hurts. It will literally break your heart. It will also teach you the most basic and fundamental rule of ministry: We serve the LORD Jesus Christ and His approval is all we need. I don’t have to have your affirmation to keep doing what I do but I do have to have HIS. We can weather any storm as long as we have peace. I will take HIS peace over their approval any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I let my Go-Daddy account expire and so they cut me off during the night. I am late because it took Catfish a couple of hours to get me back on line. Just so you know: the blog is not free. Free to you but not to me. I like my independence but it comes with a price. For many years I wrote under the DBC domain but now I have my own. It is a good thing for DBC. They can’t be held accountable for what I say.
We live in weird times which raise questions in my mind. First, will we ever get back to normal? Second, when will the insanity end? This country has gone nuts. I can’t believe what I am seeing. Governors, mayors, city councils buying into this hoax. If you are gullible, the joke is on you because you are easily fooled. It is thought that the word gullible might be derived from the verb gull, meaning “to swallow.” This would be a funny coincidence as gullible describes an overly trusting person who tends to swallow the story hook, line and sinker. Gullibility can be linked to ignorance but it can also be connected to fear. You will have a hard time convincing me that the narrative being presented is true. I still maintain that this narrative is fabricated by those who will do anything to get Donald Trump out of the White House. One thing is sure: the anti-Christ will have no problem deceiving this country.