Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name.
If you don't think anyone does this, look up Penn Gillette sometime, and see what he says about God.
Oh, come on!
Yep. That's right. So, if you are doing all these "servant-like" deeds for people, but your attitude says, "Look at me...look at all these good deeds I'm doing," then you haven't gotten it.
The "slave" attitude is described by Jesus in Luke 17:7-10. "After performing their service, they do not expect praise or even expressions of gratitude in return. They see themselves as 'unworthy servants' who have merely done their duty."
This is very difficult. Most of us want some gratitude for our works. And this is why I have always been opposed (strongly, even) to recognition announcements in our churches. You know what I mean...someone gets up and has all the people who helped in VBS to stand and they all get a round of applause.
So who/what did they work for? Did they work for the Lord, or did they work for the recognition and applause?
That being said, from the other side of the issue, it never hurts to give someone a word of appreciation that is voluntary and spontaneous. If you see someone doing a good act of service, let them know how much you appreciate it. Because even if they aren't doing it for the recognition, a pat on the back never hurts anyone.
Mark 14:66-72
This is the infamous passage where Peter denies Christ while he�s outside in the courtyard while the illegal trial is going on inside.
The book asks how Peter felt to be in the courtyard. I don�t really know. Grady Nutt wrote a book that opined that Peter might have been trying to come up with a rescue plan. We don�t really know what he was doing. It appears that he was just being a coward and denying that he knew Christ to stay out of trouble. I really don�t know. What I do know is that, as soon as that rooster crowed again, and one gospel writer even says that Jesus made eye contact with him, he ran outside and burst into tears, weeping bitterly.
Just a short while earlier, Peter had swore that he would die for Jesus.
I cannot even imagine the emotions going through Peter�s head right now. Even thinking back on the times that I have �blown it� majorly in my life, can�t come close to the event described in this passage. To declare to everyone around you that you don�t know Jesus at all�
But how many times have we done this by actions, rather than by words? By stepping into a place that we know we shouldn�t be in; by saying words that shouldn�t be coming out of our mouths; by laughing at a joke that we shouldn�t be laughing at; by watching a movie that we shouldn�t watch; the list could go on.
I�m not a �puritan� by any stretch of the imagination. And I have some guilty pleasures, true. I�m just saying that it is possible that we �deny� Jesus sometimes by the things we do or participate in. The really scary thing is Jesus declared that if we deny him before men, he will deny us before his Father.
But then, if we read on in the gospels, we see that Peter got another chance, and eventually became one of the most outspoken preachers of the gospel.
Grace and peace, friends.