Make sure you are not so concerned about your image that you lose sight of the principles in God's Word.

Have you ever caught yourself wondering what others think about you? All of us have done this from time to time, and most of us quickly find that our impressions of ourselves are false. Even in the Old Testament, image was important. In fact, this concern with image caused Aaron a lot of trouble.

God's chosen people were in mutiny against Him. While Moses was on Mount Sinai with the Lord, the people gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him" (Exodus 32:1).

Aaron did not stand against popular opinion or demand. He could have and the rebellion would have ended, but he didn't. Instead, because he wanted to be liked and accepted, he compromised.

How often do we do the same? As parents we may give our children more than is necessary because we want them to like us. A wife may see her husband doing the wrong thing and not speak the Truth to him in love. Or though we know a friend is in a wrong relationship, we choose to say nothing because we don't want to risk losing the friendship.

Many times we are concerned about our images simply because we want to be liked. Through His earthly life, Jesus demonstrated how we should follow Him. He was often disliked because He took a stand for what was right and true and threatened people's selfish desires. Make sure you are not so concerned about your image that you lose sight of the principles in God's Word.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for modeling walking in Truth with love. Please teach me how to speak the Truth to those who need to hear it in a loving way. Strengthen me for the road ahead. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).