Riches I Need Not, Nor Man's Empty Praise

I haven't written anything on here since MARCH. ...not anything from my own spiritual journey. I've done promotions for two companies and that's all I've posted. I am realizing that when I write, I am a better person. I can't believe I haven't written on here in seven months. It makes me sad. I've felt a void!

Ironically, though, what I came here to write is the same topic as what I last posted about - what others think. I found a version of "Be Thou My Vision" that I really love about a month ago, so it's been on repeat. As I'm busy with everything going on in life, I have to constantly remind myself to keep my eyes set on Christ. The line that has stuck out to me the most over the past month is
"Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise."

I'm teaching 9th and 11th grade this semester. In both classes we are reading books set in the Great Depression. We've had discussions (sometimes debates) about how money can't buy happiness. The concept is sometimes hard to understand. As I think about it, I've gotten so caught up in material things. I struggled a lot this summer, working in a boutique where I get 50% off (lol). It became addictive and made me feel terrible. It feels so much better when I take my materialistic thoughts captive and use that energy to spend time in the Lord and thank Him for what I have rather than think about what I want (that I don't need).
Last month, I lost one of my students to a car accident. He was so humble. He didn't have much, but appreciated what he did have. This has been on my mind. I want to be more like that.


As far as man's empty praise, I keep reminding myself that if I have Christ and HIS approval, I have everything I need. I sat in a workshop last Wednesday night where the speaker talked about social media and adolescents and the effect it has on them. I think about the effect it can have on me if I let it. I've written on here about girls looking at Instagram and comparing themselves to other girls. Young women. Older women. I've seen firsthand that Satan uses this to attack us as females. If he can't have our hearts, he wants to take our self-esteem. He was vain and jealous of God so he got kicked out of Heaven. In the Garden of Eden, he was jealous of Eve's beauty, so he caused her to sin. He wants to attack us by stealing our self-worth. We get on Instagram and forget what we are worth to Christ - everything. He created each of us to be beautiful in our own way.
Man's approval is empty. Sure, you don't want to have a bad reputation, but when it comes down to it, if you are right in Christ's eyes, that's all that matters. That's all you really need.
In a world where we are always so conscious of what others think, I want to stay focused on the Lord. Everything else will work itself out.




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