Okay so let me be a little more clear about what I am referring to, because if you are anything like me you have had this revelation. First of all, I chose to make my title a hashtag on the account that I believe the true place that we as individuals are failing is amongst our desire to receive recognition for the good things that we do, in particular through social media.

Look, I understand that it feels nice to be noticed because of something that maybe you innately just didn’t want to do, but there is a difference here. The difference is that when we seek the approval of others for righteous deeds, and long to be noticed for something we should have just done anyway… it becomes a very dangerous problem.

It is absolutely awesome that you are going down to the local soup kitchen and donating your time to serve those who are less fortunate, it is great that you went out of your way to buy that person’s meal behind you in the drive thru, but did either of those instances need to be posted on social media for the entire world to give you a standing ovation.

Now I completely understand, wanting to just create awareness of an organization or wanting to present a need in order to raise efforts to help mend the gap between hurting and healing.

Furthermore, I am not even saying that everyone has these intentions; I merely am just trying to communicate that when we have the mindset of only doing a good deed so that we can post about it…then our priorities need to be reexamined.

For instance, let’s say that you do decide to volunteer at the soup kitchen one Saturday and that there is this family there that you want to take a picture with…so you do, but then you go and post in on Facebook. How does that family feel about you essentially saying, “Hey everyone look at these less fortunate people that I spent time to help.”

And even though that same family may never ever see your post, put yourself in their position… how would you feel if that had been your family? Wouldn’t you want your privacy respected? Wouldn’t you want to be respected at all?

How much greater is it for you individually to know that you went out of your way to help someone in need, or to simply be generous and compassionate as we are meant to be; rather than seeking the approval and affirmation of others?

I just know how powerful it is to finally be released from the burden of others defining your identity, and just how great it is to be the hands and feet when it neither is asked nor expected of us…yet it becomes our desire to be that person of service.

Come on my fellow servants, let’s receive that call to

serve, let us do it abundantly not to receive any attention, let’s be a light,

yet only to live for the fact that we know “we done right.”