Day 34- Don't Obsess About What Other People Think

The title says it all. Pausch made a promise to his students and colleagues that he would always tell them what he was thinking as to not leave them guessing. He thought it might help them to not worry so much.

I wonder if Jesus ever worried about what other people thought. I know we should probably think the answer to that is "no" because he had a mission from God and that was all that was important. But maybe he did care. The other week in Sunday School we discussed the meaning of Jesus saying "My God, why have though forsaken me?," on the cross. One idea was that it was showing the last part of the human side of Jesus. So, if I am to think of Jesus as human, then surely he cared what people thought of him. Assuming that this is so, I wonder if it was hard for him to stay focused in the face of doubt and danger.

I was just sitting her trying to think of how it feels to state your faith in front of a bunch of non-believers and hearing the outcry of opposition. Immediately I think of gameday in Athens when evangelistic types stand on the corner of campus and preach/yell/scream their message to the "heathens" drinking around them. I also think of being a Christian within politics today. If you say you are a Christian, you are immediately associated as being a crazy pro-lifer.

To some extent, I want to obsess about what others think of me. I want to live my life to the degree where they might look at me and say, "Hey, Christians aren't scary. They are nice people. They are good people. Maybe I can let this person get close to me." And hopefully through that closeness they might find God. Just something to think about...

--Dear God, I pray that I want to know what people think of me for the right reasons, and not the superficial ones. I hope that I can lead the kind of life that makes you proud and that will aspire others to get to know you. Amen.