I've come to believe that it doesn't really matter if anyone ever sees that you did good things. By no means do I discount doing good, even great, things - I believe that if you're doing them for others, there is really no point in them at all.
You knowing you did something awesome should be enough.
If zero people read this article, that's okay. What matters is that I wrote it. I did it for me. No one else.
If you throw an awesome event and four people show up, that shows nothing about your character other than how you handle it. Those four people that needed to hear that message or meet those people or get out of the house should be worth it. Being able to discern the true purpose and learn that you can do something truly awesome should be worth it.
If you're constantly striving for perfection and not acknowledging when you've hit spontaneous greatness, you're missing the point.
Finding intrinsic worth is something irreplaceable in comparison to likes or favorites or reblogs. It's worth more than a pat on the back from someone else. It's worth more than thinking this broken world will complete us.
Our society has tried to push the marketing technique that your significant other (or even your job, children, community service, etc.) is your other half. YOU WERE NEVER HALF TO BEGIN WITH. You're whole through Christ, and the people of this world will always fail you. If you're doing something to get his/her attention or get this job or get this raise, you will never be satisfied.
Have you ever tried doing something nice for someone and creeping out from behind the corner to watch? Have you ever left a note in a library book or on a bathroom mirror? The night-time news won't ever put your name in lights for doing it, but when the lights go out at night, that's what you're going to be thinking about.
If your heart isn't in the right place, no good is going to come from it until you get your heart checked. You're not fooling anyone.
Learn a new language. Sponsor a child. Smile at the person checking you out at the store. Stop and look at the beautiful environment around you. Be grateful, and let it pour out into others.
And then see how your love for others flows out through your actions and words, not through re-living your past moments of fleeting self-glory. You're more likely to pursue hearts and create masterpieces and learn something new if you're motivated by growth and love and sacrifice, not the 'thank you's from the world that may never come.
Do it for YOU; you deserve it.
