Real godliness never prompts an
effort at display. Those who desire words of praise and flattery, and feed upon
them as a sweet morsel, are Christians in name only. – Thoughts from the Mount
of Blessing, pg. 80.
I
rushed through the door as I heard the bell going off. I don’t want to be late for practice time. I dragged the harp all
the way from the auditorium to my favorite practice spot—a corner in the
hallway, just next to the stairs. I did some of my warm ups, and
soon started playing my favorite piece—a really challenging and stunning number.
Some students that were walking by stopped to hear me play. I heard some of
them commenting on 'how good I
played,' and I
felt satisfied.
I
liked my practice spot in the hallway because I could focus better where nobody else was playing an instrument. But one day I realized it wasn’t the
only reason why I chose that spot. I knew that people would walk by and utter some
words of praise, and that made me feel good. Why did I need people to tell me how good I was in order to feel warm and accomplished? Why did others’ opinions
matter so much to me?
I decided to exchange
my favorite practice spot for an out-of-the-way corner where nobody walked by.
Jesus
loves me for who I am and not for how well I may or may not play the harp. When
I try to show off, I doubt His love, and I become a
Christian in name only. I want others to see Jesus shining through me, rather
than seeing a challenging and stunning harp display.
~ Mildred Rhys
No comments:
Post a Comment