“Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s…” Prov. 16:11a

It is a wrap! As we crawl through the final hours of this exceptional year, we cannot help but look back with thanksgiving, seeing where we are in spite of the enormous challenges thrown at us as individuals, families, communities, states, and nations. No one has the manual for navigating times like these, and most of us have managed to pull through only with God’s help, arriving at the year-end safely. So regardless of what/who you may have lost through the year or what you may have been through, I’m just thankful to God you’re still alive to read this.

“…and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land” Acts 27: 44

Let me share a thought with you very quickly, hoping it will encourage you as we journey into the New Year. I’ve thinking long and hard about why I do the things I do, or why I want the things I want. Our time on earth is limited, and as 2020 has acutely demonstrated, we will all pass on from this plane someday. So why do I act the way I do? Whose approval or commendation am I seeking? And what is the basis on which I take pride in my actions? While the answers to my questions may be long and winded, God’s word is clear on what the right answers are.

I want to propose that we all act to either please ourselves, other people, or God – that these three categories summarize the motives for our plans and actions. If that is right, then it means we draw confidence that we are doing the right things from self-commendation, people-commendation, or God-commendation (permit my coinages). The trouble with being assessed or commended by others or oneself is that human standards are not even – they are based on limited knowledge and personal biases. We may commend ourselves or be approved by all men but still be wrong by God.

My recommendation instead, is that you focus on seeking to please only God. God is not just good and perfect; He is all-knowing and everlasting. He sees the end of things from the beginnings and understand the complexities of human interactions. If He approves of my actions or leads me to do certain things, I can be certain I am on the right path regardless of whether it feels good or others approve of it. I say this because taking the right decisions will not always be easy or feel good; it may even meet with heavy criticism or disdain from others. But pleasing God daily is the utmost pursuit.

So, join me as I recalibrate my decision-making process, centralizing God’s will and choosing not to be led by my own thoughts and emotions or the opinions of others. Let us determine to live out God’s will revealed in His Holy Word and seek to know His will where we need to make life choices, not driven by popular opinion, common wisdom or trending behaviors. Let us act with respect to the One in whose hands are the scales, who measures the actions and intent of all humanity and rewards each person according to their deeds.

I wish you a wonderful New Year ahead!

“…knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” Col. 3:24

P.S: I wrote an earlier related post about the Lord being the Judge, you can read it here.