"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."- Colossians 3:17
I have always been one who loves credit. I love for people to see my accomplishments and congratulate me on them. The only reason that I will put a lot of work into things is to receive the praise. However, recently while in class I watched a Ted Talk video on Youtube. The speaker in this video was Julie Taymor. She talked about a time when she was younger. She was in an exotic place among the locals there. She said that she was sitting underneath a tree in the dead of night, when the aboriginals came out and danced. They didn't dance for others, they didn't put on the costumes so others could see, they did for God. That got me thinking!
Like I said, I always do things for the credit. I study so I can make good grades so my parents can tell me how good I did and how hard I worked. I'll do my hair a certain way just to make sure that someone says that it looks pretty. If David and I make dinner and he cooks the meat, I'll make sure that I get credit for the rest of it. But how screwed up is that?
I shouldn't be getting credit for any of it. I don't do it just because I want to, I do it to make myself feel better. What does that say about me? The credit shouldn't be going to me, it should be going to God. I shouldn't feel the need to point out the good things that I've done because I shouldn't feel the need to be reassured by people here on earth. God is the only reassurance I need. The good things that I do should be offered up to God, for His glory, not for mine.
God is responsible for everything that I am. He made me in His image with His likeness, yet for some reason I want to take the credit. So, from now on, I am going to try to work not for my glory but for His. So that everyone can see God radiating out of me, rather than me radiating out of me.
If you would like to watch the video:
https://www.ted.com/talks/julie_taymor_spider_man_the_lion_king_and_life_on_the_creative_edge?language=en