For am I now trying to win the favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ? Galatians 1:10 HCSB

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 HCSB

When you read my title you may think that I am being nosy about your finances but I assure you that is not the case. I am not speaking of income you may receive. I am talking about your social status. Are you content with that?

I have never done well with conformity. My mother taught me good manners and some I use and some I don’t. I’m going to eat with my fingers when it is at all possible, yes even in a restaurant. I am not overly concerned with what others think. I never had any desire to join a sorority in college because I had no intention of living by their rules and doing some of the silly things that may have been requested of me during rush.

I have never been one to worry a whole lot about others. I have lots of friends and I thank God for them, but I have never really cared about their financial status, their social status, their bank accounts, or things of that matter. I consider anyone a friend who is loyal and trustworthy and consistent.

When you look up the definition of social in the dictionary, there are a number of things that are listed. It can refer to social status, it can refer to a club, it can refer to relationships. And of course, we are all familiar these days with social media.  I have come to call it anti-social media because often times people use it as their only form of communication and for those of us who don’t use messaging and don’t tend to use social media that leaves us out.  People also use it as a platform to be really mean at times and to voice opinions that they feel everyone should care about. And ironically the more time people spend with their phones scrolling through social media the less time they have to actually engage in actual relationships with other human beings. Hmm, not very social,  right?

God put us on earth to have a close personal relationship with Him.  He then expects us to develop relationships with others so that we can help lead them to Him.  It’s sort of like multi-level marketing or what some might call a pyramid scheme. The only difference is that we are all on a level field with God no matter our social status.  Either we love Him and seek to please Him or we don’t. He expects us to witness to others even if it is only by the way we talk and live our lives. But he doesn’t expect for us to conform to society’s norms when they go against what His Word teaches and instructs.

So when it comes to being socially secure, I feel that I am.  I spent years not in close relationship with the Lord and I made some really bad decisions about who I chose to be in close relationship with.  I eventually wised up and ended those relationships. Once I established a close relationship with the Lord, I lost some of those so-called friends. That was okay, though, because my true friends not only remained my friends, but many of them turned to the Lord at the same time or shortly thereafter. Isn’t it neat how God works things out?  I have also made many new Christian friends who have become very dear to me.

As a state worker, we did not pay into the social security system and therefore are not entitled to receive social security, but that’s okay.  I have all the social security I will ever need. I have a close personal relationship with my Lord and Savior.  I have the assurance that when my time on earth is done that I will go to heaven to be with my friends and loved ones that have gone before me to spend eternity with God the Father.

So, if you ask me if I have social security, I would have to say, “Yep, I’m good!” My prayer for you today is that you have social security. Not the kind that is direct deposited into your account each month but the kind that can only come from God. We have a choice we can be conformed to the world and try to please man or we can submit to Christ and live to please Him. I struggled with it for a while, but eventually I realized that it was a no-brainer. Hope you have done the same.  If not, now is a good time to do so.

Have a great day!