Psalm 49:1-19
Key
Verses:48:9-10
“We humans
are praised when we do well, and all of us are glad to be alive. But we each
will go down to our ancestors, never again to see the light of day.” CEV
It is so easy to come to live for the praise and recognition we
can get from others. We measure our success or failure by the opinions and
estimations of those around us, whether is be our bosses, our friends, our
parents, or other relatives, or even the opinions of celebrities, or famous
personalities whom we respect. But the success which is often measured in this
way is hollow success and holds no ground in comparison to eternal things. The
only real success in this world is gauged by God and found in how we live out
the values and character of God in all we do and how we live our lives.
Whenever we find that we are gauging our worth, our value, our
success by the standards, the opinions, and measurements of the world around
us, we can be sure gauge is off. Our lives should be lived out reflections of
the love, grace, gentleness and kindness of Jesus Christ. The yard stick we use
is that of Jesus, that of loving God and neighbor. For these are standards of
the Kingdom God.
Thing to
Think on
Whose opinion
do you tend to value? Is their opinion truly valuable?
What standard
do you often try to live up to? Are those standards worth living up to?
In what ways
are you not always a kind, caring, or forgiving as Jesus is?
In what way
would your life be different if you loved as Christ loved, and lived out that
love toward everyone around you?
Find one way
to step away from the praise and adulations of other and seek to do something
kind, something loving, something which reflects the life Christ lived, do that
thing today. Love as Christ loved in one small way today.
A Prayer for
Today
I want to be my best. I want to do good, to be good. I want others to see
how hard I am working, how good I am doing. I want others to tell me I am doing
a good job. To see what I am doing and notice say, “Good job!” And although I
know Christ calls me to do my best, to be my best, sometimes I desire the praise
and recognition of my peers, my superiors, my friends and others more than I
desire to be the person you call me to be. Lord, help me to find my value in
you. Help my greatest desire not to be how well I lives up to the expectations
of those around me, but how well I live out your call upon my life, to love as
you love, to forgive as you forgive and to reflect your loving-kindness in all
I do, in all I say, in all I type, in how I live out my life each day. Let that
be the standard to which I compare myself. Let me be who you desire me to be,
today. - Amen
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