Ephesians 6:6 - Audience of One

"...not according to eye service, as people-pleasers, but rather as slaves of Christ, doing the want of God out of soul..."

-Ours is a far different standard.  Polar opposites.  I do not do what I do to in order to be seen by men.  All this that I do is compelled by the love and example of my Savior, Who rescued me from death and bought me with His blood.  And tho I run surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, a mixed bag of cheers and jeers and indifference, I fix my eyes on Jesus, Who has His eyes fixed on me.  The apple of His eye.  I do all that I do to please Him, my true Audience of One.  I strive with every step and fiber of my being to live into what He wants.  For truly He is worthy of nothing less than all of this.  All of me.  At least, that's the idea.

-And yet a sad state of affairs, this.  According to eye-service.  I try to hide my shortcomings and shortfalls, while at the same time wanting to show off my successes and well-dones.  These I so want others to see, to be noticed and recognized by those around me, for them to be pleased with me, and this is how I feel better about myself.  Pleasing people, my peers, fellow pilgrims.  Such a vicious cycle, this - a trap and a lie of monumental proportions.  To expect the fallen imperfect selfish people around me to provide what I need in order to feel good about my work and about my own fallen imperfect selfish self is the height of absurdity.  Understandable, but I must march to a different drumbeat.  When I raise the bar and raise my sights and (begin to) do all that I do to please my Lord Jesus Christ, I am not only freed from the tyranny of being enslaved to the vagaries of the broken ones around me, I am empowered to live into the reality for which I was made.  I was made for this, to enslaved to Jesus Christ, to serve Him, to do whatever and all that He wants, and in the end, one day, to hear Him say, well done.  Well done, My good and faithful servant.  This is what my soul longs to hear.  The passing fleeting opinions of those around me carry momentary light weight in the here and now, but they are vapors, devoid of any real meaningful impact, except as the cheers (and jeers) may spur me on my course and as the race I run may point them also to the One Who also sees them and made them to find their highest satisfaction in Him. #AO1