Broken Integrity
What Others Think – Part 2

Scripture Reading: Galatians 2:11-16

Key Verse: Galatians 2:12

Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

I believe we need to think through the concept I introduced in yesterday’s devotional.  It is summarized in the word “overly.”  In other words, when dealing with thoughts of what others are thinking of us, if we get overly worked up about their opinions, it will lead us into bad behavior.  In our young people, we call it peer pressure.

It is normal, and I think good, to care about the feelings and thoughts of others.  In fact, it can become un-Christ-like to be hardened with a “don’t care” attitude in this matter.   In Romans 12:10 the Bible tells us to “honor others above ourselves.”  The Galatian incident when the Apostle Peter was overly worried about what people were thinking of him caused him to act in a hypocritical way.

Once our concern over what others may think of us causes us to act in a way that doesn’t fit biblical principles, we know we have some brokenness in this area.  Christ followers must have courage to live with “others thinking negative” about us.  We must ask God for this courage to live comfortably in our own skin.  Whether it’s a biblical principle or a personal conviction, we must listen more to our inner being than those outer influences.  God is at work in us and we must learn to trust that work!

Father, when it comes to my behavior today, give me the courage to care more about your opinion than what others may think of me!  In Jesus’ name, amen.