Are We To Be Any Different?

When we hear over-inflated or half-truths about ourselves from relatives or friends, it hurts! and makes us feel degraded.

One time when I was shopping at the mall, I met a friend of a relative. She said, "Hi," and then asked me if I was a school teacher because one of my relatives had said that I was. She was suspicious because it was the middle of a weekday and if I was a teacher, then I should have been teaching.

My first reaction was shock, but it quickly turned into gut-wrenching hurt that one of my relatives would say a half-truth about me: I was a teacher, just not in the way that my relative had implied. Actually, I was at the mall shopping for children's ministry supplies for my church where I taught Sunday School, as well as buying some more music books for my piano students whom I taught most weekday afternoons.

I was hurt because it was as if this particular relative wasn't proud of who I was or what I did. I knew that it always bothered this person that I worked so hard "voluntarily" at my church, and also that I taught children other than my own to play the piano, and that many of these children were special needs because other piano teachers didn't have the heart or patience to teach them. But for a close relative to tell someone I was someone who I wasn't stabbed a knife-wound to my heart.

Not much later, this same person also told a lie to another friend, this time concerning my oldest brother, in particular, that he was one of the pastors on staff at a church in the city where he and his wife lived. However, one day, the friend came to visit the church, and asked the Lead Pastor which position my brother held. Of course, this embarrassingly uncovered my relative's lie, and made my brother look bad. As far as I know, my brother is unaware of this incident, and I've never told him because I don't want him to feel hurt the way I did when I discovered that this relative had lied about me.

Incidentally, my oldest brother is, like me, a Bible College graduate. However, God never called him to pastor a church. Instead, God called him and his wife to be missionaries to Guatemala. They are there today, and several years ago they adopted an orphan girl. But still, my relative refuses to refer to my oldest brother as a missionary, and instead tells everyone that he is a pastor, I guess because it sounds more elite or something.

Titles or how much a person gets paid means nothing to God! Nor should it mean anything to us. God cares about what is in the heart. We are His servants and nothing more!

"I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master.

Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message."

John 13:16 (NLT)

Jesus Christ never walked on earth demanding people to call Him a fancy title. He is just Jesus. Yes, He is the King of the Universe, the One and Only True God, the Creator of All, and the Great I Am, but He welcomes us to just call Him Jesus. Not only that, but when Jesus walked on earth, He never received a high-paying salary, wore expensive garments woven with gold thread, adorned Himself with precious jewels and metals, or rode in a golden chariot pulled by beautifully groomed, strong, white stallions. Jesus never flaunted His kingship. Instead, He became the greatest servant of all!

Now I ask: Are we to be any different? As Christians, our goal is not to strive for titles, the highest wages, or the most prestigious jobs. Our goal is to be one of God's servants and to do His will. When we have this attitude and desire, God will bless us far beyond our greatest dreams!

It is sad that my relative does not fully understand the character of God and the Christian walk.