"Celebrate Me"

"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!" Luke 6:26a

I have heard a recurring message from ministers of the gospel that encourage you to go where you are "celebrated". They will tell you not to hang around people who don't celebrate who you are and what God is doing in your life. They are saying that you need to be around people who will applaud you and rejoice in you. And if you are around people who aren't doing that then find someone else who will. I need to correct something this morning, it is not about you or me! It is not about you being celebrated. It is not about men speaking well of you. It is not about them acknowledging you, your accomplishments, or who you are. As a matter of fact, the scriptures issue a warning about this very thing. We are warned not to seek the praise, approval or applaud of men.

We are already applauded by God. We are of great value to Him. My pastor always says, "The value of something is determined by the price that someone is willing to pay for it". Well, God was willing to pay the ultimate price for us- the blood and life of His only begotten Son Jesus. You can't get any more valuable than that. So I am not saying that we aren't valuable. I am saying that it is not about others applauding who we are. Instead, it is about our lives being to the praise and honor of Jesus. Every thing we do and say should point to Him. We should be doing all for His glory so that HE will be the One celebrated.

Why did He give us a warning on this subject? Seeking the approval of men can cause us to miss the approval of God. Seeking the applaud of men helps further puff our flesh up and can set us up for a downfall because it is a breeding ground for pride. Desiring to be applauded by men robs the glory from God. How? Because anything that we are, anything that we do that is notable, anything good that we may have become, is all because of the grace and goodness of God, we didn't get there by ourselves or on our own.

Don't misunderstand. A word of encouragement is needed from time to time. Everyone needs a "pat on the back" sometimes. We should let people know when they are doing a "good job", the Bible does say to give honor to whom honor is due. But the focus is never on self and we should not live expecting and seeking applauds. Jesus was not always celebrated or applauded, and often He was rejected and ridiculed instead- we won't be either.

Don't seek the applauds of men, instead seek to please the Father. Seek to glorify Him. Seek to lift Him up so that others will applaud Him. If we seek the applauds of men, then we have our reward- their applauds and that is all. But when we seek to see Jesus alone applauded through of lives, then great will be our reward in heaven- where it really counts.

Have a great day. Our desire should not be to be celebrated by men, but to live in such a way where our lives will cause others to celebrate Jesus.

For further reading:
Matthew 6:1-4
John 15:19-20
Ephesians 1:6,12
Acts 17:28
Psalm 100:3
Romans 13:7

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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