Dying to be Liked

Liking someone versus loving someone are distinctly different.

Liking someone is based in superficial outward qualities that can often change as suddenly as the wind of a changing mood or behavior--particularly in how much they in turn like me!

Love is deeper.

Love is grounded in the value of a person which is not dependent on their mood, behavior or how I am treated by them. Love behaves towards others in ways that considers their well-being even to the sacrifice of them liking you.

I realized last night that I spend a lot of time focused on the activity of liking--liking myself and liking others. Unfortunately this is very much dependent on my mood or how I perceive I'm being treated. It struck me that I've had it all backwards.

Better to work on the attitude and activity of love. I need to stop trying to be likable doing and trying to become what I perceive will make me attractive to myself or others. I want to become grounded in the knowledge that I am loved regardless of others values and judgments. The only thing that matters is our eternal value.

Knowing how much God values people (which includes me) and letting go of the fleeting attraction of being liked is how I can truly begin to love.

The attempt to be liked or as John calls it "the love of the world" is based in pride. Whereas the attitude and activity of love is grounded in humility. If God loves and values me and others, who am I to disagree with Him or treat anyone differently?

To strive towards liking and being liked is to exist in darkness and leads to death.

To love is to live in the light and be truly alive.

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Scripture to Pray About

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away,along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

1 John 2:15-17 -AND- 1 John 4:10 - New Living Translation