rebelling against low expectations

How do I live to please God, not man?

By Discussion Questions
September 1, 2015
54 comments
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LAUREN WRITES: Does anyone have advice for not living to please man? I know that ultimately what matters is what God thinks of me, but I still have trouble living with that perspective. Any advice?

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  • Hey there Lauren! This is a GREAT question and one I think probably every person struggles with. Why? Because if we never struggled with ultimately wanting to please God above all else in everything we do, then we would never sin. So, truth is, I’m NOT an expert at this at ALL….here are a couple things that help; but again, I’m speaking from the perspective of someone who needs to hear this too:
    1) When making a decision (from what clothes to wear, to doing something kind for someone else) think about your motivation behind your action. Am I wearing this dress because I want attention? Am I mowing my neighbor’s yard so I can go brag about it to others? If the motivation isn’t right, then I encourage you to pause whatever you’re doing and pray; seeking God and asking him to give you the right heart.
    2) Doing good acts in private also keeps us humble. Because if no one sees, or knows something but the Lord (secretly making your brother’s bed in the morning for example) then in a way it forces our hearts to be in the right place.
    3) Basically, just make sure you are in tune with the Lord at all times! Seek Him in every action you take and do whatever God tells you to do no matter what others might think….
    4) Check out the comments on the discussion question “How Do You Handle the Side Effects of Praise” posted on August 6th. It’s a different question, but poses a lot of similar answers! =)
    Hope this helps! =D

  • There’s a myriad of verses, small rules, and mental checklists you can follow to try to glorify God in your life. But honestly, I think Jesus says it well when He proclaims His greatest commandment to be “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

    If you actively, passionately, faithfully love God, cling to God, and ruthlessly pursue Him, you will live a life glorifying Him. A radical love of Jesus Christ will keep your life on a track to glorify Him. If you pour your entire being into loving and faithfully following Jesus, the glorifying of Him will naturally occur as a side effect of your changed life.

  • Hey Lauren! I’ve thought a lot about this too. I’ve found that keeping my mind on the Lord as much as I can helps me to live for Him. That sounds obvious I suppose, lol, but it really helps to have that mindset. Unfortunately, there are so many things that try to distract us from keeping our eyes fixed on Him. I’ve found that chatting with Him throughout the day, along with times of regular prayer, keeps Him in my mind. That way, when I’m faced with a decision, my first thought isn’t, “What would so-and-so person think”, but “What would God think?” Keeping our thoughts on Godly things allows us to make Godly decisions. 🙂

    “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

    Hope that made some sense, lol. God bless!! 🙂

  • Pray. I know that’s the Sunday school answer but seriously, perspective is only going to come when God gives it.

    Also, reading books by or about people who just lived for God is a huge reminder for to do it too. Here’s a few suggestions:

    A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot
    Anything by Amy Carmichael (Especially Things As They Are.)
    A Retrospect by Hudson Taylor
    Under the Overpass

    I still haven’t figured it out though so I can’t give a ton of advice. Hope this helps!

  • I know I’m new here, but something that’s helped me with this is to talk to God. Not just when you need something or you feel extra happy, but all the time. It’s a struggle at first to not draw your worth from other people, but the more time you spend just chatting with God throughout the day, the more at peace you’ll feel.

    The second thing is READ YOUR BIBLE! Actually read it. I know I can be a major hypocrite in this point sometimes, because I don’t read mine as much as I should either. But especially in times when I’m feeling less-than, or I feel a need to prove myself to the world, reading Psalms helps. Psalms is basically one long love letter to God, and as you let its words sink into your heart, they become your own, and the overwhelming amounts of love and joy that come from praising God are insurmountable.

    Basically, spend time with God, and your actions will begin to reflect the way he calls us to live. Hope that helps a little. 🙂

  • to answer your question Lauren i would say to pray about it and talk to GOD about pleasing him and just try to not apply yourself to the flesh because your flesh will try to do whatever it can to make you not appeal to GOD and just like Kiara said read your bible try to ask yourself questions about what you are reading and then pray after. all of these worldly things I’m kind of being a hypocrite when i talk about this but take phones and video games and things that you Dont need to please god we don’t say you can’t use these things but they do appeal to the flesh and i try my best not to go on games and electronics because it makes me talk about everything but not god and i would be able to please god and read the bible and my daily devotions everyday but sense i am so caught up in these worldly things i forget who i should really be talking about and worshipping and because i still talk about tv shows and my video games but i don’t talk about god at all. i think that if we took away tv phones xbox and all the things in the world that are worldly and just had the bible and devotions i believe that we would be so caught up in the bible that we would all think that games tv and all the world things that are present now. We would think that they are all overrated and we would think back and say wow i can’t believe that i was caught up in all of that worldly stuff and just be amazed that you were able to get out of worshipping man and worshipping GOD. i hope that answers your question lauren.

  • Haha, yup! I’ve been trying for a few weeks to get back into it, and I’m starting to realize just much I missed it! It’s good to be back. 😉

  • Oh my word, now I feel like a terrible stalker. I was clicking on internal links on your blog today, poking around on your sites, and now I know things like your last name… :O

  • Lol! It’s fine! I don’t broadcast certain things, but if it was important for people to not know, I just wouldn’t put it online. It’s an odd last name though, isn’t it? XD Haha, and I’m actually honored that you’re interested enough to poke around in my site! I wish people would do that more! 🙂

  • Aw, thanks! I really want to read your blog too, once I can get my parents to give me the ok, lol. 🙂 It is pretty uncommon. I think I’ve run into one person with the same last name that I didn’t know…it was so weird because she was in line right in front of us at the airport, and the employees thought we were traveling together. XD What are the odds? Lol

  • Well the way to do that is by not woring about what other people think about you. And I know that can be hard, since we have to hang around some of these people. But what you need to do is just ignore the people who try to distract you from God.

  • Welcome!! Sorry I’m a little late, just saw this. 😛 yeah that’s Josh, and his profile pic is of guitars (as you can see), so we used to joke that that was a picture of him and he was actually a guitar. If I remember correctly, that’s how the nickname came to be. 😛 lol

    Don’t say anything about French toast or Yoda on here. You’ll eventually figure out why. 🙂 oh and you should talk to Sam S., the one with the candy corn picture. He’s been on here forever and he can help you figure out Disqus and stuff if you have questions. 🙂 lol you’re welcome Sam I just volunteered you!

  • Hey Lauren! Things are going pretty well. I’m flying to Hong Kong tomorrow morning! Going to be there for three weeks. Also, my mood swings have been better. I had a good cry and talk with my mom last week and I’ve been feeling less down since then.
    What about you?

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By Discussion Questions September 1, 2015
54 comments
rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →