Jesus Teaches Through Termination: Part II

I think I briefly mentioned in my last post that I wondered whether or not Joseph worried about what everyone else thought about his arrest and imprisonment for something he did not do. And it is exactly this that I wish to address in this post. Losing my job at a bank could look quite bad to people looking in on the situation, considering that I worked with money. I pondered what people might be thinking: Did he steal money? Was he doing something illegal? These thoughts weighed upon me at first. Would I be looked down upon, pitied, for being seemingly incapable of holding a job?

However, I consider it divine sovereignty that I was/am going through the book of John when this all went down. Scope out these verses:

"I do not receive glory from people." - Jn. 5:41
"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" - Jn. 5:44

When I read this stuff, I felt Hebrews 4:12 in a very real way, for the Word of God proved itself "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and the intents of the heart." My heart was laid bare and my sin was brought out into the open. I realized that I had a serious problem with seeking glory from people. And this is no small issue according to Jesus, for he sees a glaring contradiction between people-pleasing and faith. This is why he says, "How can you believe?" One who seeks glory from people in everything does not come to faith in Christ. And a Christian who seeks glory from people will not believe God's promises for him/her. Faith and people-pleasing hate each other. The Lord was good to remind me of His promises littered throughout scripture and wage war on my mind's battle.

Simply put, Jesus is who we will be staring at with awe for eternity, not any other. We must not live like humans are the ones we desire glory from. Jesus is zealous for his name and he will not allow his children to chase after "broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:12-13). To learn this was worth being fired, if for no other reason at all.