Quick, what's the first response that comes to mind?
You're getting fired in front of everyone, and it's completely your own fault.
Are you more embarrassed that people are watching this altercation?
Or that you failed?
In 1 Samuel 15:26, Samuel said to Saul, "You have rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel."
You would think that in a situation like that you would feel guilty for not rising up to whom God has called you to be. But no. Saul responded,
"I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel..." [1 Samuel 15:30].
In other words, Saul could not care less that God rejected him as king. He cared more about what other people would think of this rejection, of this demotion.
In fact, Saul's daughter Michal inherited this trait also. In 2 Samuel chapter 6, Michal disapproved, despised, and even chastised king David (her husband) for his outwardly bold expression of praise to God after bringing the ark of God to Jerusalem.
(David did not put up with that, though. He straight up told her he's going to celebrate and his people will still respect him as King. He a real one.)
In turn, Michal was not able to bear any children until the day she died.
I'm not saying the Lord will make you barren for caring about what others think of you. It's natural instinct, especially in today's culture/society, to consider how others may perceive you. However, we cannot exalt imperfect human opinion above God's perfect Truth.
Yvonne Orji said, "If your sole purpose is to win people's approval, then be prepared to be limited by what their approval gets you" (Orji, Y., 2021, p.219).
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