![]() “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9-10) I believe we have all struggled to do our best and found that our best just wasn’t good enough in the eyes of men. Eventually, we must accept that striving to please man is an empty plight, but we shall reap if we faint not, in pleasing God. A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?” So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.” So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.” Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours and your hulking son?” The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and was lost in the stream. “That will teach you to listen to the opinion of others,” said the old man that had followed close behind. We may become frustrated reading this story because we can identify with the man’s plight to please, to fit in, or be accepted. For some of us the opinion of others influences our decision making far too much. But let us remember, the goodness of man cannot even rate close to the goodness of the Lord. There comes a time when we must stop and ask ourselves, “Who am I doing this for, man or God?” “There are endless things that clamor for our attention. Many of them are good things, yet Oswald Chambers reminds that ‘the great enemy of the life of faith is the good that is not good enough.’ People often asked Jesus to do things for them, but Jesus always looked for what God wanted first – even if it meant disappointing people. (See Mark 1:29-38 or John 11:1-6 for examples.) When we are too nice and passively accommodate others, we could very well miss what God has for us.” Leslie Vernick Take a person’s opinion with a grain of salt and be determined to “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) GiGi❤️ Donkey story taken from: https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/35/aesops-fables/648/the-man-the-boy-and-the-donkey/
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
August 2024
|