Don’t Be Afraid of What People Think

“A man’s reputation is what other people think of him; his character is what he really is.”

—JOHN MILTON

Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.

—Mark 4:19

Being excessively concerned about what other people think is an open door to torment. Of course, we all enjoy being well thought of, but it is not possible to be liked by everyone all the time. Someone is going to think something negative about you and there is nothing you can do about it. If it isn’t one person, it will be another. But then again, sometimes we worry about what people think and the truth is they are not thinking about us at all.

The Bible says we should cast all of our cares upon God for He cares for us (see 1 Peter 5:7), and that includes the care of what people think. I can only live my life to please God and if people are not satisfied, then they will have to take it up with God, not with me. If I try to please both God and people, life gets too complicated and I get confused and frustrated. I experienced rejection at first when I decided to live to please God, but after a while, God gave me new friends who were pursuing the same thing I was, and together we stand against the fear of what people think.

In God’s economy, we usually have to be willing to lose something we have in order to gain what we really want. Why hang on to something that is never going to satisfy you anyway? Don’t live under the tyranny of what people think. Stop trying to convince them of your good intentions and let them think what they want to think. God is your defender; He will vindicate you in due time.

What can someone’s thoughts do to you anyway? Why live your life being afraid of a thought? God has not given us His Holy Spirit so we can be in bondage to fear (see Romans 8:15). Make the choice to care about what God thinks more than anyone else and it will simplify much in your life.