The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. Proverbs 29:25

When I was growing up, my dad never said “don’t do that because it could cause you harm” or “don’t do that because I would be worried”. He said “don’t do anything that will give them anything to talk about”. He seemed more concerned about what other people thought of us and how his children compared to others, than he was about us.

I am not criticizing my dad, I have said some pretty stupid things to my own kids and had my own insecurities. I really want us to think about those things that we focus on that seem important.

My dad came across as a very tough, confident, strong man and he was tough and strong. Confident? Not so much. He was very insecure. He was an 8th grade drop out who was a simple farm hand or laborer. And he was very concerned about people thinking that they were “better than us”. He was one of those people who walked into a room and if people were laughing they must have been laughing at him. If they stopped talking, they must have been talking about him. I think that my dad probably spent a lot of time wondering “what are they saying about me?”.

We all suffer from insecurities. We all make comparisons. We compare ourselves to others…”are they thinner?”, “are they more successful”, “are they more capable?”. But worse than that is our comparison of our family…”he is more handsome or she is more beautiful than my spouse”, “He is more caring or she is more complimentary than my spouse”, “Their child/children are more advanced than mine”, “their children are better behaved than mine”, their children are more polite than mine”. Those kind of comparisons are so incredibly dangerous. They can destroy our marriages, they can harm our children’s view of themselves. And, if you think your toddler doesn’t know that you think that he/she is not measuring up, be very, very careful. Because your children are growing up before your very eyes and time is going quickly. If you are making those remarks now, you will be making them when they are old enough to understand!

But, instead of asking “what are they saying about me?” Perhaps, instead, we should focus on what our Heavenly Father is saying about us and our loved ones.

If we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are God’s children…”Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12 and “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:1-2; We are children of God and we are forgiven and dearly loved “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 and “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 

We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10.

If we do the will of God and walk as closely to Christ as we can, we are pleasing to our Heavenly Father and a testimony to Him. If people say anything to the contrary, we have the peace of knowing that He is pleased with us.

When God says that we are His children, we are dearly loved and we are His creation, created to do good works that He Himself has planned for us to do, for His glory, why on earth would we wonder what are they saying about me? We are sons and daughters of THE KING OF KINGS! We are princes and princesses who will dwell in Heaven, in a mansion that Jesus has prepared for us, and we will be with Him for all of eternity! The criticism of others should not burden us, as long as we have been glorifying to Him and are living to please Him. His accolades are all that we should be seeking.

I pray that today we would, supernaturally, be able to comprehend the love that God has for us. I pray that it would lift us up and encourage and give us strength. I pray that this confidence, that comes not from our own abilities but from what the Father has said about us, would allow us to be bold for Him and to glorify Him in such a way that others would be unable to resist Him.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and if you struggle with self confidence and the insecurities of what others might say about you. I pray that you would go to our life preserver page and pray the prayer that is outlined there. Once you do, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know so that I can pray for you and help you grow in your relationship with and knowledge of our Savior.

Luv ya!