We Don’t Let Them Know

“Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12:42,43 NKJV). Being politically correct, not stirring up negative press, giving a good image, seems to be the predominant theme in our country.  In the church community, this can show up as an apprehension to speak and share the truth of God and His ways to those around us.  There is a lot of fear within the Christian community.  A fear that one might not be accepted if they speak up, a fear to be labeled as fanatical, narrow minded, or whatever. Therefore we do not openly confess to those around us that Jesus is our Lord.

The scripture above talks about the root source of the situation, it was present in the spiritual leaders in the time of Jesus, it is also present now.  “They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”  We can rationalize and provide all sorts of reasons in our mind about not wanting to offend, or not knowing what to say, or being sensitive to others, but the simple thing is that many times we love the opinions of others more than the opinion of our Lord.  We are more concerned about what others think about us then what God thinks about us.

Lord we know that the safest most secure foundation for our life is when we have our heart fixed on You.  We know that by ourselves we cannot even walk with You or rightly related to You.  We often, as seen by our actions or lack of them, show that we love other things or people more than You.  We want to love You the most, will You help us to do so.