People-Approval

 If you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan, you may have woken up over the weekend to hear about one of the most stunning hires in sports history. The Dallas Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer, the former Offensive Coach for the Cowboys. This hire seems to have infuriated most of the Cowboys’ fanbase. Many think the Cowboys are no longer serious about winning. Fans seem disgruntled, ready to give up on their team.

I’m just wondering one question. How does Schottenheimer feel about the lackluster fanfare he’s receiving? Can you imagine reading all the negativity about yourself in the news? How do you think it affects him when people say it was a trash move to hire him? 

Truth be told, none of us would enjoy receiving all this negativity. We so freely share our judgments about others, but the moment we’re judged? Different story. It pains us deeply to be judged. So, why do we treat others this way?

We all need freedom from living for the approval of people. Check out this critical verse in Galatians: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

When we seek man’s approval, it is temporal, fleeting, and not lasting. People are fickle and can change their opinion about someone based on what they read or hear from someone else. Just think! We can base our opinion on someone knowing only half the truth! And we might be dead wrong. (For example, Coach Schottenheimer may end up being a fantastic coach!)

How does the fear of disapproval paralyze you from doing what you want to do? Schottenheimder said "yes" to the Dallas Cowboys coaching job, probably knowing the lackluster fanfare he'd receive. That took courage!

How can we seek God’s approval more than people? Seeking approval from people is enslaving ourselves to people. God says we can’t serve two masters. As we learn to be a servant of Christ, we become free from the suck of people's approval.

What if you were the new coach of the Dallas Cowboys? How would you respond to all this negativity? People will constantly change what they approve of ALL the time. Living for the approval of people sucks the life out of you.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Throwing a Punch

Ben and I were watching the CFP Semifinal with Ohio State and Texas last week when something happened that surprised me. An OSU player, TreVeyon Henderson, was flagged for a 15-yard penalty for a shove to a Texas defender. The last I heard throwing a punch isn’t such a nice gesture. When he went to the sideline, I noticed a bible verse written on his eye black. What in the world was he thinking?

The verse read “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.” (Romans 3:22). Of course, maybe you’re wondering like I was: Why would a Christian punch a player in the face mask? 

Isn’t our natural inclination to judge those who sin? I remember saying to Ben “Look at Henderson! He punches someone and then there he is on the sideline showing his Romans 3:23 verse for all to see!" And just like that, I show my hypocrisy.

Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” How do we interpret this verse? It means that ALL people are sinners and have not lived up to the standard of God. We may try our best to be a good person, but we still miss the mark. Note that the Greek word for ‘sin’ (hamartano') in this verse is “missing the mark.” I’m a sinner. You’re a sinner. TreVeyon Henderson is a sinner. We ALL miss the mark with God.

I’m so grateful that even though others will continue to judge, God forgives. Listen to what TreVeyon Henderson said later after the game:

“I spent some time on the sideline with the Lord asking for forgiveness and helping me to repent, turn away because that’s not who I want to be…. God picked me up in that moment….. I’m thankful for my brothers in Christ to pick me up and help me to focus on the Lord.” (TreVeyon Henderson talking about his unsportsmanlike penalty in the CFB Playoff Semifinal)  

Beautiful things can happen when we humble ourselves before the Lord and admit we were wrong. I loved seeing him speaking of repentance about his poor decision. I appreciate his boldness and honesty in sharing this on national television. Usually, we prefer to hide behind our sins and hope no one sees. We can live for years like this.

Fortunately, our sin is not the end of the story. Our perfect God knows our weaknesses and knows when we genuinely want to repent. He wants us to succeed in our struggle with sin. I’m so thankful that’s why God sent his Son Jesus, to atone for our sins- for your sins and my sins.

I’m so grateful that God loves each one of us personally. He knows you and sees you, your mistakes, sins, and weaknesses, and STILL loves you.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Groaning

As I watched the news about the growing California fires, my ears were piqued when I heard the city Altadena mentioned. A dear friend from my days in Southern California lived there. I reached out to her and the next day got the mind-blowing news. Their home was destroyed.

I can’t quite comprehend what my friend’s family and all those who have lost homes must be experiencing. What would it have been like to grab your family, animals, and sentimental stuff and run for your life? How do you respond when you hear that your home has been burned to the ground? How will you spend the days ahead finding some semblance of normalcy? I tried to put myself in her place and consider what it must feel like.

I sense when we watch horrific happenings like this, that many can question God. How could God possibly allow this? Where was God when your house burned? How could you say God is good? Why didn’t God stop this from happening?

The raw pain of what’s going on in SoCal will not go away anytime soon. The pain is so intense that it’s as if those suffering groan in pain. I think of Paul in Romans 8:22-24 when he uses the metaphor of childbirth to describe the pain of the world and the hope of new life:

“For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope, we were saved.” (Romans 8:22-24)

Let’s focus in on the word “groaning.” The Greek word for “groan” is ‘systenezai.’ It carries with it the sense of our cries of pain somehow joining together.(Doug Bratt, Romans 8:22027 Commentary) This suggests that we don’t groan solo. It’s both God’s creation and God’s creatures.

Thankfully there’s hope for our groaning. There’s hope in God’s salvation. There’s hope that the suffering and groaning we experience now is not the end of the story. There’s hope that one day the whole earth will be covered with the glory of God.

So, today, we run to God because He is God. He is sovereign over all the universe, and we trust Him to see us through. We pray fervently for our friends and family who are suffering right now. We show up and ask that God would carry those experiencing gut-wrenching groaning. And we care. We care deeply for those around us who are suffering. We pray. We don’t give up. We trust in God through the chaos and brokenness around us. We love deeply.

Lord, be near all those who are suffering and give them Your peace and hope.

“I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: ‘Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, He’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good-tears gone, crying gone, pain gone-all the first order of things gone’" Revelation 21:4 The Message

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio

The Unexpected

Directly facing a wrong-way driver was not on our bingo card for the Christmas holiday.  Ben and I were driving to the Y’s 5K Reindeer Dash on an early Saturday morning before Christmas. We both saw a car coming right at us. I swerved quickly and honked. The driver appeared unaware of anything and kept going. We were grateful to be unscathed, but the incident shook us.

As we enter 2025, I sense many of us have fears about the “unexpected” part of our future. You know, those things that we don’t plan for. The wrong-way drivers, terror attacks, serious illness, accidents, financial woes, and relational strife.

I’m all for planning for the new year! The new calendar is ready to go. But my calendar doesn’t list out the unexpected things that will come my way. The unexpected stuff can be downright annoying, extremely painful, very frightful, and potentially life-changing. How will you and I respond?

No matter what is going on in the world today or our individual lives, absolutely nothing catches God by surprise. There’s nothing I want more this year than to grow in my relationship with Jesus. I want to be more in love with Him, more dependent on Him, and more ready to trust Him in the uncertainties of life.

Jeremiah says these powerful words today from Lamentations 3:19-24: “Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’”

What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? This is exactly what Jeremiah was going through in this section of verses. God had brought judgment upon the nation of Judah. He promised exile and warned of judgment, but Judah had ignored those warnings. Now God promised to bring disaster to his rebellious people. There, before his eyes, Jeremiah saw Jerusalem fall. He cried. He expressed his grief.  He told God that His faithfulness is great at a time when he probably doesn’t feel it’s so great.

God calls us, like Jeremiah, to call to mind His great love and great faithfulness. Call to mind. We can easily forget that God is good and loves us perfectly and is ALWAYS faithful. We forget…especially when the unexpected happens. We naturally react to uncertainties, thinking WE have to fix things. We wander, just like Jeremiah!

God is calling us to live close to Him. Stop your wandering. There is always hope when you decide to trust in God. Jesus will be faithful to be there every morning with new mercies to get us through all the uncertainties that come our way.

His compassions are new every morning. Every single morning. Look for them.

Take a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT0HcAr9aeI

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.