Stand Alone
“So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12 (NIV)
Today, I witnessed an interesting phenomena. As my little guy was playing at the local Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, Chuck E., an enormous mouse, began to circle the game room. Kids from everywhere flocked to follow him. They knew the drill- follow the mouse, get free tickets! He led them to the front of the restaurant and initiated a “Chuck E.” rendition of Simon Says. At the end of the song, the kids were urged to do their own dance. At first, my son played it cool, shook his head and backed up. But after watching his age mates twisting, jumping and dancing, he could not help himself. He became fully immersed in the dance. After a while, he was dancing bigger and more bodacious than the next kid.
Peer pressure is a funny thing. In this instance, it was good. It normalized a fun, kid-friendly activity. Because others danced, he dared to dance as well. At other times, the tendency results in a negative result- we cave in. We sacrifice our convictions. We get lost in the crowd. We lose our presence. We forfeit our testimony.
All of this made me think of my Christian walk. I love, love, love to praise God! To worship with abandon, to raise my hands, to sing out with my whole heart. But it is so much easier to do so, when the climate is one of a worshiping crowd. It is hard to stand, when others sit. It is hard to praise, when others are detached. We are such social creatures! Going against the grain is difficult to do.
This verse reminds us that although we are made for connection, for relationship, when all is said and done, we stand alone. Alone before God, the One Righteous Judge. To Him we must give account for our actions. For sins of commission, and also for sins of omission. Things I did, that I should not have done… things that I should have done, but refrained from. All of this, my deeds done in the body, will be judged by Him, either to the result of gaining heavenly reward, or to the end of forfeiting my reward:
“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (II Corinthians 5:9-10)
Sobering thought, isn’t it? I am so grateful that as a born-again believer I can avoid judgment that leads to destruction and eternal separation from Him. But, truly, I do not want to stand ashamed before Him for wasting any opportunity that He gave me. To disappoint Him, would be heartbreaking. I want to be that person who stands when others blend in. I want to be a light, even when darkness is oppressive. I want to do the right thing, because it is the right thing. Even when no one else does it. And especially, when no one but Him is looking.
O Lord, help me to remember that I dance before an audience of One. I serve an Audience of One. Before You, and You only, do I lift up my praise. To You alone, do I pay reverence and homage. Let me be found faithful before You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Such beautiful words, Sherri! ! It is hard to stand out and always has been. It’s so worth it though. Like you said we’ll stand before God alone one day. Thanks for encouraging us!
Amen to that Sherri. We all do want to fit in and when we stand up for what we believe, we may stand alone. But that is okay, because I do want to please God and not man.
Thank you for the encouragement, Heather! The Lord has to constantly remind me that it is all about Him. : )
Iris, you are so right. The way the world us changing we will have to learn to do so more and more!
God has me in a place of loneliness and learning to trust Him.
As a people-pleaser this is hard for me. But, I want to please God.
Michelle, I have had my share of lonely places. I trust you are on your way to greater victory and joy in Christ!