More to Life than being Popular?!?

I was looking through my iTunes the other day and ran across a song that I listened to years ago in my college years. As I was listening to this song – reminiscing of all my great college years exploits, I couldn’t help but think about what this song was actually saying. So, I thought it would be good to ask you all to play it and see if you all can identify with this theme and if it is true of you and people in your school.

Download and play “Popular” by Nada Surf

This is the world’s view of how to be popular. Being popular is so important in today’s middle school and high school. There is so much pressure on you all to look a certain way, hang with the right people and be the coolest person you can be. I don’t care what kind of social circles you run in, no one wants to be excluded or not accepted. No one wants to look like the fool amongst all the students. We all desire to be popular in some way.

In looking at being popular, I wonder if there is more to this life than being just popular. I think there is and it is found in how God views us and others.

Often times, when we view ourselves, we are our own worst critic. We see things that others will not and really judge ourselves too harshly. However, despite our perfections or imperfections, it is good to see God’s perspective on this whole matter.

Our view of ourselves

Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT)

We are all God’s “MASTERPIECE”
God doesn’t make a mistake – we were designed as we are; for a purpose

Romans 8:38-39 – “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. 39Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Translation: we are loved!

I don’t care what you look like or what you have done – God created you to be who you are and loves you all the same.

Our view of others

Now that you know how God views each and every one of us individually, what does God say about how we should treat others?

Matthew 22:36-40 - “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Christ was asked what the greatest commandment is. Basically, he was asked, if I could follow 1 thing and 1 thing only, what would it be. His response is two-fold:
1. Love God
2. Love others as you would yourselves

He raps it up by saying that everything hinges on those 2 commandments.
So basically, if you aren’t loving God and aren’t loving people – you are missing the point. Loving others is so important – everything else is based on this! If it is so important, we need to do it and treat others as God would.

Another section in the Bible talks about this as well. I’m not going to post it because it is a long story, but here is the gist of it.

Matthew 25:31-46
Christ returns and divides the group up into 2. One group he says, come with me because, I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick or in prison and you visited me. He said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
To the other group, he told them to depart from him for they never took care of the least of them. For he said, “whatever you did not do for the least of these, you id not do for me.”

Who are the least of these that you come into contact with? How do you treat them?

In many ways, the way you treat them is the way you would treat Christ

So how does this apply to popularity? How do you treat others around you? Are you so tied up with hanging with the “cool” crowd and the “winners” that you make fun of, neglect, or down right insult others? That is not God’s intent and it needs not to be ours.

Challenge

Remember, because God views us as loved (not one person isn’t loved); because we are God’s masterpiece - we need to view others they same way! Just because the way they dress or act is different from us, does not mean that we should or even can make fun of them. We are all loved by God and judged by God. We do not have that right to judge others.

Christ died for us all – not just you certain people. It doesn’t matter who they are, what they do, we are all God’s workmanship.

Live this week with this mindset: YOU ARE GOD'S MASTERPIECE & LOVE OTHERS AS CHRIST DOES!

Can you imagine the difference you can have in someone’s life by treating them with love and appreciating who they are for who they are? Let’s take the mindset of Christ!