I have finished reading through the books of Acts and have moved on to the book of Galatians. As I was reading the first couple of chapters this morning I ran across a foot note that took me to Romans 2:29. I read the New Living Translation during my quiet time right now and when I got to the end of this verse, I came upon this statement - “And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.” When I read this my mind stopped and began to chew on this part of the verse. Here a few thoughts that I have had as the day has gone on and I have had time to chew on this:
At times I can be considered the chief among sinners in context with this verse. When I have preached in the past I would always ask Irene how I did. I would ask others did it make sense or was I off the mark. Now at times I wanted to know this information so that I could improve at what I was doing and at times, I must admit, I wanted the people around me to give me a little praise. Where I should have been seeking this information and this praise is from God Himself. You know, as I sit here and type this – this is a hard pill to swallow, but I have always tried to be transparent in my walk with the Lord.
I have watched adults and students stand and lead in worship and I could tell you which ones were there for the praise of the people that they were leading and which ones were there for God and Him alone. There are certain students that stand out in my mind that as I sat there and watched them lead in worship I felt as if you were almost interrupting something that was designed to be shown to God and no one else. Their praise will come one day from God Himself.
Early in my time clowning I was sitting around talking with a close friend about the praise in laughter and applause that we get during a service. I made a statement that I believe can be applied to all aspects of life – if we are only doing what we are doing for the laughter and applause, then at the end of a program we are paid in full. If we are doing what we do for the glory of God – then our praise is waiting for us in heaven. Just speaking for myself – I’ll wait to collect my praise.
One last thing – the heart of a person is revealed by the praise that they seek. If one is seeking the praise of man – has their heart really been changed?
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and your treasures in heaven.
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