Don’t you just love it when people respond favorably to your posts on Facebook? Love those “likes!” And to add to the hype, FB continuously feeds you the stats, complete with a downward red arrow if your page reach is not up to snuff. Quite intimidating! And not a pretty sight for those of us who are “Type A” and are passionate about what we do.
So I paused today and asked myself, how many likes is enough? Are those people who have millions of followers satisfied, or do they still want more?
In our online work with veterans and their loved ones, I struggle daily with what to say, and what to post. Instinctively I look to see how it is being received. By nature a people pleaser and wanting to play life “safe,” writing books and blogs and doing interviews definitely keeps me growing. The vulnerability of stepping out and sharing from my personal life is scary! Only recently did it occur to me that this is my testimony…my story. And people do not have to like it. Wow! How freeing! Maybe I have been gauging my “success” by the wrong scoring system.
I wonder how often we have a desire to do something good for someone, but hesitate as we try to predict how they will respond. Our fear of not being “liked” can be so crippling.
Fear of what others might think is not a new challenge. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25), Jesus relates that each person was given an opportunity to do something good for the Kingdom of God. When they reported back later, He in essence “scored” them. I love how He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (not “good and perfect servant with a lot of likes”). He also said that when we do it unto Him (not for recognition or praise from people) He is pleased. And that is the “like” that will count for eternity!
I am thankful that our salvation does not depend on what we do, but on what Jesus did for us on the cross. What we “do” after choosing to believe in Him is a result of our salvation.
If God puts something on your heart to do, do it! In His power and for His glory. And then let it go. You may not get an earthly “like,” and you may never know if or how that person was touched. But you will have been good and faithful in God’s eyes. One “like” from Him is all we need. Ultimately, nothing else matters. And that is the scoring system I want to live by!
