rebelling against low expectations

Your Job is to Do Your Best to the Glory of God

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I haven’t always been a writer.

As a child, I almost never wrote outside of my usual schoolwork. Writing was not a subject I dreaded, but neither was it something I particularly enjoyed.

When I was fourteen, the Lord laid it on my heart to start a blog. I was very hesitant, though, because the world had been trying to teach me something, and I must say that they did a very good job.

The world told me that I should only do something if I was one of the very best at it. Since I wasn’t going to be C.S. Lewis or Charles Dickens, I felt that I shouldn’t make my writing public.

Sadly, this mindset translated over to the rest of my life as well. I had come to see myself as a failure because I couldn’t excel in every area. I would go through several weeks at a time where I would work really hard at something, and then I would realize that I couldn’t be the very best at it and I’d fall back into feeling like I was a terrible person.

But I am so thankful for the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. God brought to my mind a passage that I had memorized:

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

I realized that it didn’t matter what I could and could not do. My job is to glorify God and leave the results in His hands.

This realization gives me the freedom to do everything that God calls me to without worrying about how others will view me. It doesn’t matter what people think about my intellect, personal appearance, musical abilities, writing style, you name it. God views me no differently than any of His other children because I split an infinitive or leave out a comma. To Him, I am His little girl that He will always love. And that’s all that matters.

And you know something really neat, God can use untalented people just as well as talented people!  He is God, after all, and God can do anything.

In fact, the Bible tells us that God’s power is more clearly displayed in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). God may have made me not as talented as someone else because He wants me to be humble and have all the more reason to give the glory to Him.

At this point you may be thinking, “Hurrah! I don’t need to try to learn and grow because God will love me anyway.  No more punctuation!” This is a completely wrong mindset. Colossians 3:23-24 says,

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

One of the ways that we glorify God is by working hard. But, take notice of who we’re working for: that’s right – Christ. This means that if I want to honor the Lord, I’ll be focused on pleasing Him in my work, not pleasing the world.

When I was little and we’d be cleaning the house, my mom would always tell my siblings and me, “Pretend that the Queen is coming.” She wanted us to clean with the same diligence that we would apply if royalty was coming to dinner.

The King of kings sees everything that you do. He sees pure laziness, people-pleasing effort, and diligence that desires to honor Him. As 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

I’ve written this article in past tense, but I still struggle a lot in this area. Yet God is teaching me that He loves me in spite of whom I am. I don’t have to be the best at anything. I don’t have to sing quietly so that no one will hear me, pretend I understand that scientific fact, or remain silent during conversations so that I don’t embarrass myself.

By not hiding under a basket, I’ll allow others to see my mistakes. And I am going to fail. A lot. But even then, God’s love doesn’t lessen and He will be glorified.

God will be glorified through you if you are trusting Him in obedience.


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About the author

Anna Moss

is a 16-year-old who is passionate about encouraging others in the study and memorization of God’s Word. She blogs about this and the insights that God gives her in His Word at sweeterthanhoneyblog.blogspot.com. She enjoys spending quality time with her wonderful family, reading good books, playing piano by ear, babysitting, long conversations about important things, and participating in the National Bible Bee.

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By Anna Moss
rebelling against low expectations

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