“When you die and you are standing before God, what will you be held accountable for?”
I don’t remember my exact answer but being a young seminary student, I gave some super deep spiritual answers. My counselor was not impressed. He even said something about the fact that I “over-spiritualize everything.”
“Ok, Mr. Fancy Counselor then why don’t you just tell me the answer.”
My counselor handed me a post-it note and a red marker. He asked me to draw a red circle and then to write inside the circle the following words, “Actions, words, and attitude.”
“These are the only things that you will be accountable for when you die because they are the only things that you are in complete control of.”
He then had me draw several other circles on a piece of paper and write the names of various family members and friends inside of them.
“You might bump up next to other people’s circle but you can’t control what goes on inside their circle. You can influence them but at the end of the day, it’s up to them.”
For a people-pleaser that simple red circle changed my life. As much as I want everyone to like me, it just ain’t going to happen. There are going to be people that are upset with me but that’s life. At the end of the day, all I can do is make sure that my “actions, words and attitude” were honoring to God. If the answer is yes, then move on. If the answer is no, then I need to make things right.
Needed to hear this today.