Worried about What other People Think

I was sitting outside my local car repair shop enjoying the early morning sun, writing in my journal, and waiting for an oil change when a young man said to me,

“I’ll wash it. I will. I’ve been working 90-hour work-weeks, and I haven’t had a  chance to get to it.”

I looked where he was pointing and  saw he was talking about his car, a beautiful white Mustang.

I’m near-sighted, and I didn’t have my glasses on, so I couldn’t really see the dirt and then the dent he pointed out. To be honest, I hadn’t noticed the car.

His car was his treasure, and I think he assumed I had studied it and was judging him for not keeping it maintained.

 I’m a firm believer in regular engine maintenance. But the appearance of the exterior and interior of the car?  If only he knew that the soap-box derby-looking white Honda van with the fur-covered seats (vintage dog hair) in dock one was mine.

I hadn’t noticed his car, but earlier, when he stood in line in front of me, I noticed how clean he smelled, how kind he was to the attendant, how polite he was to the other woman in the waiting room, how at ease he was when he sat down.

These, I think, were his real treasures.

We chatted for a bit about Spring Break in Panama City, about the crazy hours he was working. He said he was a bartender and a night manager; he didn’t mind working long hours. He was kind and affable with a definite gift for gab. This, too, was his treasure.

After he drove away, I wanted to chase him down and say, “you are confused about what people see when they look at you. They don’t see a car. They see a really kind person.”

The Bible tells us a number of times how silly it is to worry.

Today, my eyes are wide open. I am thinking of the many times, just like my young friend,  I’ve worried about people judging my actions, or lack of action. I think of the time I’ve wasted worrying about what people think of my children, my house, my hair.

How silly.  Most people are concerned with what they are doing, not what I am doing.

Isaiah says the Lord will be your stability when you fear Him. That fear him part just means that we love His fellowship so much that we will do what we can to keep from losing it.

I think what Isaiah is trying to get me to understand here is that God is my stability when my thoughts are on pleasing Him, not others.