Reflect today on your tendency to worry about what others think of you. Know that God wants you to live an honest life

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and mocked him. And Jesus said to them: “You justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts; because what is of human esteem is an abomination in the eyes of God “. Luke 16: 14-15

"God knows the heart!" What a great truth to be deeply aware of. So often in life there are misconceptions we have about others and misconceptions others have about us. This passage goes to the heart of this tendency of the Pharisees to create a false image of themselves for others to see and care little about the inner truth of which only God is aware.

So what is most important to you? What do you prefer? Are you more concerned about the opinions of others or the truth of your life in the mind of God?

This fight can go two ways. On the one hand, like the Pharisees, we can strive to present to others a false person of ourselves while, at the same time, God is fully aware of the truth and is aware of the false image we are trying to represent. On the other hand, we may find that others have a false image of who we are, which can do us a lot of harm. When this happens, we can be led to anger towards others and we tend to defend ourselves in an irrational and excessive way.

But what is important? What should we care about? Truth is what matters and we should care little about what does not matter to God. We should only care about what is in God's mind and what he thinks of us and our lives.

Reflect today on your tendency to worry about what others think of you. Know that God wants you to live an honest life by which you present yourself in the truth. Do not be like the Pharisees obsessed with the flattering and false images that others had of them. Just worry about living in the truth and what is in God's heart and leave the rest to Him. In the end, that's all that matters.

Lord, help me see what's in your heart and help me worry only about how you see me. I know you love me and I know you want me to live fully in the truth. May your love be the guide of my life in all things. Jesus I believe in you.