A young boy was journeying through his village on a donkey with his grandfather.
They passed some villagers who loudly discussed what a shame it was that the boy was riding the donkey while his elder walked.
Embarrassed, the boy got off the donkey and had his grandfather ride it, only to hear another group saying how horrible it was for the young boy to be forced to walk while his grandfather rode.
Feeling pressure, the boy asked his grandpa if they could both walk. The grandpa complied, but no sooner had he done so when another group they passed shouted how foolish it was to not ride on a perfectly good donkey.
Thinking hard, the boy decided to have them both get on the donkey—only to be shamed by villagers who thought he was abusing the animal.
So he did the last thing that could be done—picking up the donkey with his grandfather and carrying it over a bridge. But he tripped, lost his grip on the donkey, and the donkey fell into the water.
The boy looked back at the group of passerbys, frozen by his fear of what they were thinking, while his grandfather went into the water to save the donkey.
Moses 6:43 states, “why counsel ye yourselves and deny the God in Heaven?”
How many times do we look to other people for approval or direction. It’s easy to do—the voices are screaming all around us.
But as Proverbs says, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso puteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
Ultimately, we—like that boy—have to realize that we can never please everyone with our actions.
Peace and assurance come as we focus on the Savior.
“Don’t worry about other’s opinions of you. God never told you to impress people, only to love them.” (Dave Willis)
Enoch is a wonderful example of this. Even though those around him said “there is a strange thing in the land; a wild man hath come among us. [… And] all men were offended because of him,” he was able to feel that assurance and peace.
We must “Pay more attention to your creator than your critics.” (Unknown)
Attempting to please others just leads you to feel frozen in place—
Progression comes through Christ’s perception.
Rely on His opinion and be free.
come follow me daily 