Approval

I have to tell you that one of the hardest parts about being a pastor is knowing that not everyone will agree with you at the end of the day. Actually, that's true in any position of leadership. You can't please people all of the time and leaders are often faced with unpopular decisions.

But let's be honest. Don't we all face the challenge of having tough choices to make and being afraid of the feelings that will be hurt in the process? As a dad, I don't always like the choices I have to make. I make them any way. With your finances, you know there are times you'd love to spend the money for your family to do something but the right choice isn't necessarily the popular one. Feelings get hurt in the process. Words are often said.

I've come to learn as a pastor that the guy who said "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" was either deaf, stupid or in denial. Of course words hurt. Often they leave indelible marks that take years to diminish in pain. But the right choice is the right choice regardless of public opinion.

Think about this, if public opinion were most important, Noah would have never finished the ark, David would have never slayed the giant, Gideon would have never faced his enemies, Nehemiah would have never finished the wall around Jerusalem and Jesus might never have been born. But history shows that their decisions were far more important than the opinions that were offered after the fact.

I love this thought. Commit it to memory for the next time you are faced with one of life's tough choices.

"Becoming obsessed with the way others think about me is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me." (Craig Groeschel) And, at the end of the day, His thoughts are what matter most.