The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to him.”

—2 Corinthians 5:9

Our goal should always be to please the Lord. If we have any other earthly ambition ahead of (or even in addition to) that, it will always be competing with what the Lord wants of us.

The beauty of this is that pleasing the Lord means freedom from the expectations of this world.

Paul goes on to say in verse 12, “We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.”

He was telling the church to stop being impressed by outward appearances, power, or grand gestures. “Recognize no one by the flesh,” he adds (2 Corinthians 5:16).

Our only measure for ourselves should be whether we aim to please the Lord—in other words, where our hearts are. This doesn’t mean we will necessarily do great things in the eyes of the world. It does mean that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our lives.

It’s easy to get caught up in how we look to the world and worried about whether people see us as successful, smart, attractive, or worthy. But we’re not seeking their approval, and God isn’t worried about our appearance or our resume. We simply live our lives with the goal of pleasing him, and he is pleased.

We will not do it perfectly, but as long as living in humble service to him is our true aim, we will not miss.

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