Baptist City Blog

Dealing with Personal Attacks

Psalm 7:1

"O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:"

If you ever get heavily involved in the work of the LORD, you will have to deal with personal attacks. Personal attacks are never pleasant to go through, but they are a great way for God to reveal your weaknesses to you. I can testify from personal experience that personal attacks can make you a stronger Christian if you deal with them properly.

This psalm comes from a time in David's life when he was attacked by a man named Cush. We don't know what this man did, but we know from the title of this psalm that Cush attacked David with words. David was not a novice when it came to personal attacks. Saul attacked David without a cause. In fact, David had many personal enemies for no reason at all. Yet, he dealt with the personal attacks in a proper manner. This psalm shows us how he dealt with personal attacks.

First, when personal attacks come your way, you must trust in God. The verse above shows us that David immediately put his trust in the LORD. Most people want to trust man to be their defense when they need to put their trust in God. God is the only One Who can deal with your situation and help both sides. When you need to dump on someone when under personal attack, God is the One on Whom you should unload. God knows what you face, and He can help you through your situation.

Second, ask God to reveal where you have done wrong when you are under personal attack. Sometimes there may be something that you have done that has caused this attack. At other times there is something that God needs to change in you that the personal attack can reveal. I have learned my weaknesses more when I'm under personal attack than I have in any other time in life. The pressure of the situation revealed my weaknesses to me, and the pressure of the situation will reveal your weaknesses to you. Ask God to show you what you need to change when you are under personal attack.

Third, let God deal with those who are attacking you. Christian, God can deal with them better than you can. Retaliation may seem to be gratifying, but it will only cause the situation to get worse. When God deals with those who are attacking you, then He will vindicate you. Don't lower yourself to the level of those who have attacked you. Let God deal with them so that you can go to bed at night with a clear conscience.

Fourth, don't be afraid to ask God to end the attack. In verse 9 David said, "Oh let the wickedness come to an end;..." God can end the attacks if you ask Him. When you try to end them, you will act in the flesh; therefore, you must let God determine when's the best time to end the attack.

Finally, let me warn you not to become involved in personal attacks. Oftentimes you can get caught between two people whom you love, and if you're not careful you will take sides. Let me caution you to stay out of the attack business. There are plenty of other things you can do than to get involved in personal attacks. You may get involved and one day find out you are on the wrong side.

Personal attacks are a part of life. Unfortunately, they are also a part of the Christian life. Deal with them properly, and you will find yourself a better Christian for them. The ultimate goal of anything that you go through is to become a better Christian. Let God make you a better Christian because of your personal attacks.

Your Shared Affliction

Isaiah 63:9

"In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old."

"I know what you are going through." This is a statement many people make who really understand what someone is going through. There is only one way that you can know what someone is going through, and that is to go through what another is facing. Yet, even then it is not quite true, for every situation is uniquely different.

There is only One Who can truly make this statement, and that is God. He says in the verse above, "In all their affliction he was afflicted,..." In other words, He wasn't just saying that He has gone through what someone is going through, but He is saying that He is going through it with the person who is afflicted. When they feel distress come their way, He feels the same feeling of distress trying to take over. When the situation gets tight, He feels the same tightness, for He is going through it with them. God knows exactly what you are facing because He has not only gone through it before, but He is sharing your affliction with you right now.

God says in Hebrews 4:15, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." This verse should be comforting for you as you go through your trials because it shows us that God is not a novice when it comes to your problems. You can see that He has felt every heartache and faced every trial that you have or will ever face. So, when God shares our afflictions, He has the wisdom and knowledge of how to face it, for He has gone through it before.

Christian, let me encourage you that God knows what you are facing today. He should be your counselor through your tough times, for He has faced your problems before. Many people may try to help you through tough times, but only God truly knows how to help you through it, for He has faced your situation before. There is nothing in your situation that catches God by surprise. Something you face may catch you by surprise, but God knew it was going to happen.

Furthermore, God not only knows what you are going through because of past experiences, but He also knows what you are going through because He is sharing it with you. God is there to share the yoke of heartache and trials with you. You don't have to carry the burden by yourself. He is trying to share the burden so that don't have to carry it by yourself.

I challenge you today to let God help you share your affliction. When you feel that you are at your end, remember God is there to help you carry that burden. He is the only One Who can lift your burden, but you must let Him. Run to Him and tell Him your heart's feelings, for He truly knows how you feel and how to help you. If you will look closely enough, you will see that God is along side sharing your affliction with you. What a comfort to know that you are not going through it alone!

Adorn Yourself

Song of Solomon 8:9

"If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar."

The verse above is about a husband and wife who were concerned for a younger sibling who apparently was not the most attractive young lady. concern was that she was so plain that no man would ever want to marry her. They decided to help her by adorning her so that her appearance wasn't so plain.

Though the verse above is talking about someone's physical appearance, I believe it could also be applied to someone's personality. Most people are not naturally attractive when it comes to their personality. Most people have to work at adorning their personality if they want to be attractive to people. Your personality is important in many areas of life. It is important to have a good personality in the business world. You rarely see someone rise in the business world who has no personality. In the Christian life, it is very helpful to have a good personality if you are going to reach others for Christ. If you are going to lead people in the church, whether it be a Sunday school teacher, bus worker or a helper in a church ministry, a good personality is important so that you can help more people.

Just like the young lady in the verse above needed to adorn herself to help her appearance, I believe it is important to adorn your personality so that you can be a better servant of Christ. I don't say this to demean anyone, but most people must work on their personality. I constantly work on my personality so that I can better help people who would not normally want anything to do with me.

Some of the things with which you could adorn your personality to help you reach more people are very simple things. For instance, you could adorn personality with friendliness. Proverbs 18:24 says, "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Anyone can be friendly if they so choose. You could also adorn your personality with kindness. You could adorn your personality with laughter and cheer. People love being around someone who enjoys life and is happy. You could adorn your personality with concern. Being good to people is welcomed by all. These are just a few areas where you could adorn your personality, and it would help you in many areas of your life.

Like the young lady above needed others to help adorn her, you will need others to help adorn your personality. Look at others and see what is attractive about their personality, and don't be afraid to add it to yours. Throughout the years, when I see something about someone's personality that has attracted me, I have never been afraid to work on adding that to my personality. If it attracted me, then it will attract others if I also adorn myself with it. There is nothing wrong with this, for everyone is a compilation of many influences. If God sent a person across your path, then maybe His purpose was to help teach you something you need to work on.

Furthermore, you will notice that it is building process. In other words, you should never stop working on adorning your personality. It should be a lifelong process of building your personality. Don't be discouraged when you aren't immediately like something, but be patient as you work on building your personality.

Certainly, personality is not everything, but it would be helpful not to have a plain personality. The better your personality is, the better influence you will have for Christ upon others. Don't fight it, but be honest with yourself and what you need to work on, then adorn your personality in the areas where you are weak so you can be a better representative of Jesus Christ to others.

Getting the Right Timing

Ecclesiastes 3:11

"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."

The right timing is everything. You can do the right thing at the wrong time and it will not turn out the way that it should. For instance, a person can marry the right person at the wrong time and have marriage problems because they were not quite ready for marriage. Determining the right timing in everything is important to the degree of success and happiness that you will have.

The verse above says, "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:..." God believes that timing is important. If you get the timing right, then everything will work out fine. I remember years ago when I was working on my car that I accidentally got the timing on the firing order of the engine wrong. Because the timing was wrong, the car would not run correctly. I had to go back and get the timing right for it to run correctly. Sadly, you can't go back in life and get the timing right. You have one time to get it right, and God says when you get it right it is a beautiful thing. Let me give you some suggestions of how to get the right timing.

First, don't be in a hurry. When you get in a hurry, you will most certainly find the wrong timing. Timing takes patience. Most people struggle with patience and get themselves into trouble because they rush things. You must remind yourself that your life will be easier and happier if you get the timing right. If you will learn to wait and not rush what you want, then you will find that God's timing is perfect.

Second, get God involved in your timing. In the earlier years of my ministry I asked my pastor, Dr. Jack Hyles, how I could grow my ministry. I sincerely wanted my ministry to grow faster so that I could influence more people for right. His counseling was very wise in that he told me that God knew my name, address and telephone number, and that I just needed to be patient and let God grow my ministry in His timing. Thankfully, I listened to his advice, for God's timing in my ministry has been impeccable. God knows what is best for you, and you must wait on Him to show you the right timing in all that you do. Trust that God knows the best timing. Read God's Word to help you to determine the best timing. Pray and ask God to show you the best timing. God's involvement in your timing will help you to find the right timing.

Third, don't sacrifice the future for the immediate. Too many people want to live the future right now, when they need to live in the present and let the future take care of itself. Take care of what you are supposed to do right now, and you will find that the timing will take care of itself. I have found that if I stay busy doing what I'm supposed to do, then the timing of everything falls into place.

Last, don't delay the inevitable because of hardship. Many people pass up the right timing because of how hard the right timing may be. Let me warn you, if you delay what you are supposed to do because of how hard it is, then you are only making it harder for yourself when you do have to face it. Don't put things off to tomorrow when you can take care of them today. Timing isn't always easy, but it is always best.

Learning the right timing will be one of the most important things you accomplish. If you get the right timing, then you will find that success is much easier to achieve. If you will do things in the right time, then you will find that you can lessen life's heartaches. Take the advice of this devotional and determine to not only do the right thing, but do the right thing at the right time.

The Lie of Lies

Job 11:3

"Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?"

Zophar asked, "Should thy lies make men hold their peace?" He was simply asking Job if he thought his lies would cause others to obtain peace. Zophar understood that one of the biggest lies about a lie is that it cannot deliver the peace it promises. A lie may promise that peace will come, but lies never deliver peace because conflict is the root of a lie.

One of the stories in the Scriptures when a lie promised peace was when the serpent told Eve in Genesis 3:4-5, "...Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Satan's lie to Eve did not deliver the peace that it promised; rather, it delivered conflict and strife that we still endure today. The lie of lies is that it will never deliver peace.

We must always understand that the core of a lie will never give what it says it will. The reason it will never deliver is because John 8:44 shows us that the Devil is the father of lies. From the beginning the Devil could not be trusted; therefore, why do you think you can trust his lies? He may promise one thing, but he will deliver the opposite. He may promise peace, but he will deliver conflict. You must never forget that the Devil is a deceiver, and anything which he father's is filled with deceit.

I point this out to you for two reasons. First, don't ever fall for the belief that there are times when lying is okay. We live in a day when people think that lying is okay if the situation dictates it. Let me make this clear, you may cause people to have peace at the moment with a lie, but eventually the lies will cause greater conflict. You may be able to get people to stay silent for a while because of a lie, but the lie will always come back to bite you with conflict. The lie that lies give peace is only temporal, but the long term effect of lies is conflict. This is why you must never deem it okay to lie for the moment to keep peace. It may keep temporary peace, but eventually you will deal with the conflict, but in an even greater way.

Second, I point this out to you because lying to yourself only causes your conflict to become greater. Many people lie to themselves to make themselves feel better, but they find out that the lie never gives them peace; instead, it gives them greater conflict. If you have a problem in your life don't listen to the lie; instead, deal with the problem. You can listen to the lie that your marriage is fine when you know it's not, and the only thing you will have is greater marital problems in the future. You can listen to the lie that you can control your vice, but your vice will only deliver greater conflict in your life. You must not lie to yourself! When your heart tells you that you have a problem, the best thing to do is deal with it.

Let me challenge you to become a person who lives in truth. Be the type of person who tells the truth all of the time. Yes, there are times when truth will be hard on those whom you tell it to, but you can always tell the truth with grace to keep the truth from hurting as bad. Yet, you must remember that when you tell the truth, you are actually delivering peace if people will deal with what the truth tells them. Likewise, you must be a person who doesn't lie to yourself. When you know you have a problem, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and correct your problem. You will find that if you listen and do what truth tells you, then peace will be the eventual result.

Unadvised Promotion

Esther 3:1

"After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him."

Who people promote to a place of authority will either make or break them. Often people choose someone to follow, and by doing so they are promoting that person to be their leader. This choice ultimately determines their future. Adults make this decision on a regular basis. Young people make this decision many times to their own detriment. It is imperative that you choose the right type of people to promote to leadership in your life.

King Ahasuerus made an unadvised promotion when he promoted Haman to a high position. Apparently, Haman was already working for Ahasuerus in some role when he was promoted to this high position. You would think that Ahasuerus would know what kind of man Haman was, but apparently he didn't or he didn't care. Yet, this promotion put a black mark on Ahasuerus' legacy. Like many leaders, it was an unadvised promotion that dogged him and his ability to lead. He should have been more careful with his choice, for if he had, this would never be the regret of his tenure.

Sadly, people commonly make the same mistake. People without hesitation or prayer quickly promote someone to be their pastor, boss, leader, or friend without doing any background check on them. You should always be careful who you allow yourself to follow, and be careful not to make unadvised promotions. There are several things about Haman that are indicators of someone whom you should not promote in your life.

First, Haman was wrapped up in himself. Haman was all about Haman. This type of person should never be promoted in your life. You should only promote people who point people to Christ and others. You don't want to choose a man to be your pastor who is more interested in his own name than he is the name of Christ. You don't want to choose friends who will pull your attention away from Christ towards themselves. This would be an unadvised promotion.

Second, Haman was improper with the opposite gender. It didn't bother him to throw himself into the same bed with Esther. When you see that a person is improper with the opposite gender, you would be wise not to follow them. Their actions will eventually rub off on you and could eventually cause you to fall. It would be an unadvised promotion to follow someone who is improper with the opposite gender.

Third, Haman was hateful towards groups of people. Again, this would not be the type of person you should follow or with whom you should yoke up. When a person is prejudiced towards any race, then that person has a serious problem. Every person, no matter their color or background, is a human being and is loved by God. You should avoid following or being close to this type of person for it is an unadvised promotion.

Let me warn you not to carry these characteristics. You should want to be the type of person whom people can wisely follow. If you shouldn't follow a certain type of person, then you shouldn't be that type of person. If you find yourself having any of these types of unadvised characteristics, then change them. Make it your goal to be the type of person whom others can follow. Let their choice to follow you be a wise promotion.

Attitudes for Lasting Relationships

Nehemiah 9:17

"And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not."

God's attitude towards Israel is amazing when you consider how often Israel strayed from Him. Israel often pushed God aside for other gods, and yet He would take them back when they repented of their sin. God's attitude towards Israel is the same attitude you must take towards others if you want to build lasting relationships. Every relationship has risks, but the assets of each relationship far outweighs the liabilities you will encounter. The verse above shows what attitude you must have with others if you want to build lasting relationships.

First, you must be ready to pardon. The word "pardon" is a powerful word. When someone is pardoned, their crime is wiped off their record. In other words, God was always ready to forget Israel's sin if they would come back to Him. If you are going to build lasting relationships, then you are going to have to be ready to pardon people. Lasting relationships cannot be built when you are constantly throwing the past at each other. A lasting relationship must be willing to let the past be the past. A lasting relationship must be willing to move on and build from the present. If you are not ready to pardon someone, then you will never build a lasting relationship. People are going to wrong you; therefore, you must be ready to pardon them when they do wrong. I always put it this way, be willing to give people a chance to have a bad day. If you are ready to pardon, then you won't destroy a relationship when someone wrongs you.

Second, you must be gracious and merciful. Grace is given when you don't deserve something, and mercy is not giving when you do deserve something. In other words, to build lasting relationships, you cannot be retaliatory. When someone wrongs you, you must be willing to be good to them. Lasting relationships are built upon people not retaliating towards the actions of others.

Third, you must be slow to anger. Many relationships have been unjustly destroyed because of anger. If you are going to build lasting relationships, then you must not allow your feelings to control your actions. There are times when you need to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself so that you can build a lasting relationship. If you want to build lasting relationships, then you are going to have to learn to keep your mouth shut when you want to say hateful things.

Fourth, lasting relationships are built on kindness. In other words, you must be considerate of others to build lasting relationships. Be considerate of their feelings and desires. Be willing to lay aside your desires so they can have theirs fulfilled. Lasting relationships are built by both sides being unselfish.

Lastly, lasting relationships are built by determining never to forsake each other. When others forsake someone, you must be willing to stand with them. When the other person in a relationship is being attacked by all, you must be willing to stand with them. Relationships are built in the bad times, not the good times. How you stand with someone when times are bad will determine whether you will have a lasting relationship.

Life is filled with relationships. Your desire should be to build each relationship to last a lifetime. Life is too short to destroy relationships. Do your part to build lasting relationships, so when you are old you will not be a lonely person. Lasting relationships will drive loneliness away.

It's Not Your Battle

2 Chronicles 20:15

"And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's."

Jehoshaphat made the same mistake that many Christians make in that he made God's battle his own battle, and the result was that he was"afraid" and "dismayed." Jehoshaphat saw the great multitude coming to destroy Judah, and because of his position, he thought it was his battle. What he forgot was that he was simply a representative of God. Anybody who fought against him was actually fighting against God. His job was not to be concerned with the outcome of the battle, but to do what God told him to do. If he had stayed focused on his responsibilities, then he would not have had to worry or fear.

In the LORD's work you will find that there are many battles that will be fought. Christians will be attacked for their stand for what is right. Churches will face battles against liberal politicians who want to control churches. Preachers will be attacked for standing and preaching the truth. In any case, the battle is the LORD's, and because it is His battle we must let Him do the fighting.

Two things happen when you make God's battle yours. First, fear will grip your heart. You will notice that God said to Jehoshaphat, "Be not afraid..." He was afraid because he made this battle his. The LORD's battles are too big for you. When you make them yours, it will be natural to have fear because you are not able to handle them. I am reminded of David fighting Goliath. His heart should have been filled with fear, but it seemingly wasn't. Why? Because he understood that it was the LORD's battle. You need not fear when you're fighting the LORD's battles because they are not yours. The battle you face today may seem unsurmountable, but you must realize that the battle is not yours, but God's. You can repel fear from your life if you will keep the battle in its right perspective.

Second, disillusionment will grip your mind when you make God's battle yours. Many Christians become disillusioned with the Christian life because they see these battles and watch people fall in them and wonder how they can overcome. You shouldn't worry about overcoming the battles, for even if you lose it is not your battle. In the LORD's battle people will fall, but you must not become disillusioned.

What is the answer to keep from making the LORD's battle yours? The answer is to do what you are supposed to do. Stay focused on doing right, for that is your responsibility. Leave the victory up to God, and you do what you are supposed to do. You need to keep soul winning, doing right, and walking with God, and you will find that the LORD is very capable of fighting and winning His own battles. If you will stay focused on fulfilling your responsibilities, then you will not have to carry fear and disillusionment in your life. Your life can be free from these if you will not make the LORD's battles yours.

And When

2 Chronicles 9:1

"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart."

Everybody has an "and when" time nearly every week of their life. Let me explain what I mean. The verse above says, "And when the queen of Sheba heard...she came to prove Solomon with hard questions..." The "and when" time is when people come to ask you questions. The queen of Sheba was one of those in Solomon's life who asked questions, and Solomon was ready for those questions. He was not going to allow his "and when" time to be a time when he didn't have an answer for those who needed answers. He studied to have an answer so he could better help people serve the LORD.

The Scriptures say in 1 Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" God expects His children to prepare themselves when their "and when" times comes. Nobody knows when this time will come for them, but they should make sure that they are ready when it does come. There are several times when you should be ready to give an answer when your "and when" time comes.

First, be ready to give an answer concerning the Gospel at all times. I have watched many so-called men of God on national television squander their "and when" time when they were asked whether Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. Every day of your life you will have a chance to answer the "and when" question concerning the Gospel. Always be ready to give an answer to those who need the answer concerning their eternity.

Second, be ready to give an answer concerning the Word of God. In life you will find people who will want to ask you hard questions concerning the Scriptures, and when that time comes you should be ready to answer them. The best way to be ready when your "and when" time comes concerning the Scriptures is to daily study the Scriptures so that you will know how to answer every question that comes your way.

Third, be ready to give an answer concerning current issues. One of the troubling things I have seen in Christianity is how little people know about current issues. I can certainly understand someone going through an emergency situation in their life not knowing current issues, but as a principle you should know what is going on so you can give an answer when asked. Don't allow your "and when" time concerning current issues to be a time when you don't have an answer.

Last, be ready to give an answer about questions concerning life. Your life should be a constant classroom where you continually improve your knowledge about every area of life so you can give an answer when asked. Many people won't learn because they don't care about something, and that is unacceptable. You should always be ready to give an answer. When your "and when" time comes concerning questions of life, be knowledgeable so you can give an answer.

We all admire Solomon for having the answers to the questions he was asked, but you should also have the answers like he did. He had to work and study to have the answers, which means you will have to do the same. Use your "and when" times to help people come closer to Christ and salvation by having an answer for them when they ask you those hard questions. When you give an answer to the hard questions, you will gain their respect and attention, which will allow you to give them an answer concerning salvation.

Separating Yourself From the Crowd

2 Chronicles 6:8

"But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:"

One thing many people try to do is to make themselves different from the crowd. Most people simply don't want to blend into the crowd. You can walk through a public place and see that many people have weird and outlandish hair and dress styles to separate themselves from the crowd. Many sports figures want to separate from the crowd and strive to be the best athlete. People in workplaces desire to separate them from the crowd so they can move up the executive ladder. Many people have a desire to be different from the crowd.

Especially, when it comes to God, you should never want to be one of the crowd. When it comes to God you should desire to separate yourself from the crowd. David was successful at separating himself from the crowd. When God looked for someone to become king after Saul sinned, David separated himself from the crowd and was chosen by God. You can see in the verse above that he separated himself from the crowd by desiring to build a house for God. Was he the only one who desired to build a house for God? I don't know because the Scriptures don't say, but I seriously doubt that he was the only one.

So, what was it that caused David to be separated from the crowd? I believe the thing that separated David from everyone else was his heart. Twice God specifically mentions David's heart as the thing that separated him from the crowd. When he was chosen to be king above his brethren, it was his heart that separated him from the others. When it came to building a house for God, it was David's heart that God honored in allowing his son to build a house for Him. It wasn't his talent that separated him, but his heart. It wasn't his looks that separated him, but his heart. The heart of David separated him from the crowd in the sight of God.

If you want to be separated from the crowd, then you need to work on your heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "...for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." God shows us specifically in this verse that the heart is what will separate you from everyone else. We often hear the importance of production, and I believe that is important, but the heart is what separates you from the crowd in the sight of God. If you would spend as much time working on your heart as you do in trying to be successful in every other area, I truly believe you would be able to separate yourself from the crowd.

Let me ask you, is the sincerity of your heart different than everyone else? Is the desire of your heart to please God different than everyone else? Christian, you can work on the outward appearance to impress everyone, but you will fail at impressing God. God delights in the person whose heart is tender and contrite towards Him. Until you come to the point where you forget about trying to impress man, then you will never separate yourself from the crowd. If you will have the type of heart that solely wants to please God, then you will be able to separate yourself from the crowd.