In keeping with Harper Lee, there is another great lesson in the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
'People are certainly entitled to think what they want, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions, but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.'
I don't mean to discount the value of other people's opinions of me...in fact, in many ways, those opinions have helped me to make changes in my life for the better. With that said, there is danger when we allow the judgments of others to affect us in a negative way.
I have found that we are often hard enough on ourselves as it is and we do not need to allow other people's words, thoughts, or actions to burden us even more. It doesn't matter how many people share the same opinion (majority rule), what matters it what we think of ourselves.
I've always loved the phrase, 'keep your chin up and your nose clean.' When our lives are in order (noses clean) then we can keep our chins up regardless of what others may think of us.
The best way to keep your nose clean is to follow this counsel: 'Good, Better, Best...never let it rest until your Good is Better than Best.' There's always room for improvement.
*GASP! I'm so proud of you! In fact, I really needed this reminder. Whether I'm aware of it or not, somehow I always let the thoughts of, "But what will they think" get in my head and discourage me from doing BEST things. Like my RS Lesson this Sunday...they may not like some of the things I have them do...but I know that the thoughts came specifically from God, so I'm going for it anyway...and keeping my chin up :)
ReplyDeleteYAY FOR TRAVIS! Keep this up! :)
The word verification: awthor...I think we can safely pronounce that "author"...blogger welcomes you back, too! :)