There is nothing wrong with being nice. There is nothing wrong with going the extra mile to do things for others.\u00a0 But make sure you consider your motivation in doing so.\u00a0 If your motivation is to ensure that others will be happy with you, you will be disappointed.<\/p>\n
Why? Because no matter how hard you work, no one is going to be pleased with you all the time.\u00a0 That includes your spouse, your children, your boss and your best friend.\u00a0 No matter how kind you are, people are going to be unhappy with you from time to time.<\/p>\n
Moreover, there are some people who will never like you no matter what you do. This happens in a lot in family relationships.\u00a0 Your in-laws may never approve of you, no matter how kind you are to them.\u00a0 If you have step-children, step-siblings, step-parents, step- anything, they may never like you, no matter how much you do for them.\u00a0 That is because their opinion of you has nothing to do with you<\/em>.\u00a0 It has everything to do with them, and with their issues.<\/p>\n These are hard pills to swallow. But accepting that people aren\u2019t always going to approve of you is liberating.\u00a0 Once you realize that no matter what you do, you will not have a 100% approval rating, you then can get down to the real business of life: pleasing God.<\/p>\n When your motivation for all your actions is to please God, life becomes so much simpler. Then everything you do is about God.\u00a0 WWGD is the answer to every question.<\/p>\n Now sometimes pleasing God will put you in a position that appears to be irrational to the outside world. For instance, turning the other cheek doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense to most people.\u00a0 But that is what God calls us to do.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.\u201d\u00a0 Luke 6: 27-30<\/p>\n Jesus\u2019 admonition sounds simple. However, when you put it into practice you will find that spiritually immature people will perceive you as being weak.\u00a0 And those with flexible morals will try to take advantage of you.\u00a0 But if we really want to follow God\u2019s will, then we are called to a higher standard than the rest of the world.\u00a0 To put it plainly, we are called to be good, no matter what.\u00a0 Zero excuses.<\/p>\n Pleasing God means fulfilling His purpose for your life. That isn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 It may mean rejecting the well-meaning advice of your family and friends.\u00a0 It may mean pursuing a career path that seems unsure.\u00a0 And it will take faith in God\u2019s promise to take care of you, even when you can\u2019t see the end of the road.\u00a0 But when you pursue God\u2019s purpose for your life, things suddenly flow more smoothly.\u00a0 The pieces of life begin to fit into place as they haven\u2019t before.\u00a0 God\u2019s ways are always better than ours.<\/p>\n It is good to serve other people. It is good to serve your pets and to be a responsible custodian of the earth.\u00a0 But do all of that in response to your desire to serve God.\u00a0 Make God (rather than man) the motivation behind all your actions.\u00a0 When you do, you will be amazed at how much easier and more beautiful your life will become.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is nothing wrong with being nice. There is nothing wrong with going the extra mile to do things for others.\u00a0 But make sure you consider your motivation in doing so.\u00a0 If your motivation is to ensure that others will be happy with you, you will be disappointed. Why? Because no matter how hard you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n