But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. Galatians 2:6-8 (NKJV)
Everyone has tried to impress people at some point in their lives. We get so concerned with our careers, our kids’ behaviour, our homes, our cars and our looks. We even come to church trying to act like we have it all together.
The trouble is, thinking that you have to impress others or perform at a certain level, it will make you miserable.
All that time and effort to impress others when they aren’t even really paying attention is such a worthless pursuit. Can you imagine what would happen if we all stopped worrying so much about our performance and just started treating people with love?
I’m not saying it’s bad to want to look or do your best. But if all your energy is consumed with your performance—your outward behaviour and achievements—it’s going to sap you of energy.
The truth is, everyone just wants to be loved. They don’t even care what you’re wearing, how impressive your resume is or how many people you know. Primarily, everyone else is thinking, “What does everyone think of me?”
If we’re all thinking that, why are we so worried about our performance? Why don’t we break out of this cycle and begin to reach out and love and bless people instead of trying to be impressive?
You’ll be amazed at how much enjoyment comes into your life when you stop worrying about how you’re performing and you turn your focus to blessing others just for the sake of blessing them.