Most of us want people to speak well of us. However, we cannot serve both God and men (see Mt 6:24). We must choose between pleasing God and pleasing people. The praise of human beings is fickle. Jesus understood this well (Jn 2:24-25). In the span of five days, the crowds in Jerusalem changed from acclaiming Him with joyful shouts of "Hosanna" (Mk 11:9) to furious cries of "Crucify Him!" (Mk 15:13)
St. Paul understood this dynamic also. He chose to write a necessary but difficult message to his young church in Galatia. Paul wrote them: "Whom would you say I am trying to please at this point – men or God? Is this how I seek to ingratiate myself with men? If I were trying to win man's approval, I would surely not be serving Christ!" (Gal 1:10) Paul also wrote to the church in Thessalonica: "As men entrusted with the good tidings, we speak like those who strive to please God, ‘the Tester of our hearts,' rather than men. We were not guilty, as you well know, of flattering words or greed under any pretext, as God is our witness! Neither did we seek glory from men" (1 Thes 2:4-6).
Unlike St. Paul, the Pharisees "preferred the praise of men to the glory of God" (Jn 12:43). They rejected Jesus and thus exemplified Jesus' comment, "Woe to you when all speak well of you" (Lk 6:26). Therefore, rejoice when people speak ill of you, especially for your belief in the Lord (see Lk 6:22, 26). Let us live no longer for ourselves, but for Jesus (2 Cor 5:15).
| PRAYER: | Father, may I be full of joy to be "judged worthy of ill treatment for the sake of the Name" of Jesus (Acts 5:41). |
| PROMISE: | "Blest are you poor; the reign of God is yours." –Lk 6:20 |
| PRAISE: | Stephen not only fasts on Fridays, but for fifteen years has spent an hour in Eucharistic adoration every Friday. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College