Intro: A friend, a good guy in the Pastorate, has a church bully. She’s doing everything she can to undermine him, gossip about him, cause him to walk away. She’s keeping a list of everything she can find that she doesn’t like about what he says or does. She even scuttled plans for the church to take up a special offering so he could afford to go somewhere on this anniversary (he doesn’t make a lot there). That’s the impetus for this post. But the principles? Yeah…universal. Time for you to find some peace, yo.
The only expectations...LISTEN! The ONLY expectations you have to meet are Christ's. Not your friend, your spouse, your boss, or your employees. Just Jesus'.
And...you WILL fail. But Christ has already paid for it. In Jesus, you are forgiven. Yeah...own it. Confess it. Repent from it. And if you wronged someone, apologize to them, too.
But...CATCH THIS! You aren't responsible for their expectations. Esp. the unspoken ones. You are responsible before King Jesus to do what he'd have you do in relation to the people around you. And that's all.
Every Pastor friend of mine...take a big breath and let it out slowly. It's gonna be OK. Trying to make everyone happy with you will destroy you. And them, as well. Because you can't disciple anyone if your main goal is to be liked. Besides, not everyone will be happy with you. Even Jesus himself had haters. Are you better than him? Riiiggghhtt. So...live real. Live simply. Live for Jesus alone.
PS...those who demand grace the most for themselves are the most reticent to give it to others. Shake it off and continue to walk faithfully with Jesus.
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