Ducking into the doorway, I saw that only two seats lined each side of the aircraft, and I felt like I could stand in the aisle with my arms outstretched and touch both ends of the plane! My window looked directly out on to the propeller. Fear gripped me.
I plopped into my aisle seat and got adjusted, when I heard a soft voice. “Excuse me, I think I’m the window seat beside you…”
“OK, just a sec I…” my sentence trailed off. Before me stood a girl that could have leapt straight from the cover of People magazine’s “40 Most Beautiful People in the Galaxy” edition!
“Soooo, can I get to my seat?” I realized she was still waiting in the aisle for me to move.
“Um, yeah, sure…” I stammered, dropping my book and getting tangled in my iPod headphones as I struggled to unfasten my seatbelt. Regretting I didn’t listening to the pre-flight instructions on how to unfasten your seatbelt, I finally spilled into the aisle, and she eased her way past me into the window seat.
“So, what do you do?”
“Oh, I was Miss America Rodeo Princess last year.” Sweet mother of mercy.
“Oh, I’m allergic to horses.” ‘I’m allergic to horses?!’ That’s the best you can come up with?!
“Oh, that’s too bad. Do you fly much?”
“Yeah, but I’m terrified of flying…” Mike, what are you doing!? Tell her you play the drums! “…but not as much as I’m scared of spiders…” STOP IT! Honesty is NOT the best policy!
As I painfully watched her slip through my fingertips, she gave me an awkward smile, “Don’t worry; I’m sure there is nothing to be afraid of.” I groaned and gripped my seat. This would be a long flight…
It’s amazing what goes through our heads just to impress people! It’s as if every time we meet someone, we flip through our life files to find what will make us look best, and that’s what we present. We are terrified that people might accidentally stumble upon the REAL us!
The desire to please others can consume our lives. But what are we so afraid of? Why am I so concerned with what others think of me? I have discovered that the quest to please everyone is a fruitless endeavor.
We will never make everybody happy. In fact, the opinion that matters most is often the one neglected. What does God think of my life? Is He pleased with the way I am spending it? The Apostle Paul was unpopular with a lot of people, yet his life pleased God, and that’s all that mattered to him. This world will ask us to sell our souls in order to be accepted by others. Do I care about the one opinion that really matters, or am I spending my time trying to please everyone else?
“On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.