Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Wednesday July 1, 2026
Transcript
- Greg: Hey, what's up, everybody? It is Wednesday, July 1st. We have ⁓ we have put yet another month in the history books, turning the page on the calendar once again, and years halfway over, and man, is it flying by? But we're ⁓ we're back to do what we do here every day. We had a little ⁓ had to take a little day off yesterday. Yesterday was a travel day. As you can see, I have ⁓ I have arrived. I am now in my my happy place, so to speak. But we're gonna get back to doing what we do. I'm your host, Greg Miller. The show is beliefs, ballots, and bulldogs. And the ⁓ the theme of the day is control your character, not your reputation. And let's think about that. Start from a question. How much of your life is is spent worrying about what other people think? I mean, think about it. Really think about that. We worry about being misunderstood, we worry about being judged, we worry about people twisting our words and taking things out of context. We worry about our reputation. And if we're honest, most of us have spent time trying to manage how other people perceive us. We've all heard, hey, perception is reality. So we're aware of that, and we want to we want to do what we can to control how we're perceived in this world. But what if that's a burden that God never intended for us to carry? Today I want to talk about the difference between character and reputation. Character is who you really are, reputation is who other people think you are. And then often in cases those are not the same. They don't match up the way we would hope that they do. The scripture passage of the day comes from the book of first Samuel, chapter sixteen, verse seven. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on his height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. When Samuel went to anoint the next king of Israel, ⁓ he saw Eliob and and immediately thought, surely this is the one. He he looked impressive, he looked the part, he was strong, he was confident, he looked like a king should look. But God interrupted Samuel and said not to look at the appearance or stature, because that's the things humans look at. That's what people look at, the outward appearance. But the Lord looks at his heart. The Lord looks at your heart, my heart. Even God's prophet, in this case, Samuel, judged by appearance. And that's that's a reality that should humble all of us. If if Samuel could be in a position to misjudge someone, then maybe we should be a little slower to assume we know everything about the people around us. Now here's the encouraging part: people only see pieces of your life, but God sees the whole story, every last bit of it. He sees your motives, he sees your struggles, he sees the prayers that nobody else hears. And he sees the sacrifices that nobody else notices. God sees your heart in entirety. So that that raises another question. If if people are going to occasionally misunderstand us, what exactly is our responsibility in that matter? I think I think Paul, the Apostle Paul, answers that in the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 18. Paul says, If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Notice what he doesn't say. He doesn't say you'll have peace with everyone. Believe me, you won't. He says, as far as it depends on you. Now, if you think about that from the from the correct perspective, that's that's incredibly freeing because your responsibility is your actions and your responses, your integrity, your words, your actions. You cannot control someone else's assumptions. You cannot control someone else's bitterness. You cannot control someone else's interpretation. You can only control whether you've acted with honesty, humility, and love. Sometimes reconciliation isn't possible because it requires two willing hearts. Faithfulness, however, only requires one willing heart. Think about the world we live in, and it's you know the same speech can be praised by one group and absolutely condemned by another. The the same act of generosity is called sincere by some and performative by others. And then we've got, you know, the the same decision can be celebrated by one side and just absolutely criticized to no end by the other side. And and why is that? Well, it it's because people aren't seeing just the facts and aren't judging just the facts and aren't reacting on just the facts. Everything's being seen through filters, political filters, personal experiences, past wounds, expectations, biases. This is true for public figures, it's true for pastors, it's true for parents, it's true for every one of us. So if your goal is to make everyone agree with you or understand you, you will spend your entire life chasing something that is absolutely impossible. The ⁓ getting back to the apostle Paul in the book of Galatians, ⁓ chapter one, verse 10. Paul asks a question here that I think all of us Christians should be asking regularly. Am I now trying to win the approval of? Of human beings or of God. And that's that's really the heart of this entire message. If if your identity depends on applause from those around you, then that criticism is absolutely going to crush you. If if your peace depends on universal approval, you will never have peace. But if your goal is to be faithful before God, you can sleep at night knowing you've answered to the right audience. Now, this doesn't mean we ignore constructive criticism. It doesn't mean that we don't from time to time become defensive or refuse correction. This just means that we remain teachable while remembering that not every criticism is true and not every compliment is accurate. Don't let the praise inflate your ego and don't let the criticism define your identity. Let God be the one and only that shapes your character. All right, got 66 days until Georgia football. Go dogs. ⁓ I searched a lot in there is not a whole lot of sixty-six to get excited about, historical or ⁓ or very recent. ⁓ we got a true freshman out of the Atlanta area, Tyreek Jemison. Got everything you look for. I mean, it this dude's six five, three thirty coming out of high school, top three hundred player in the nation as a recruit, top thirty player in the state of Georgia as a as a recruit. So everything's there. The talent's there, the measurables are there. It it's just gonna come down like it always does. This is gonna be You know, i i is Kirby able to push the buttons to get the absolute best out of this kid. And does this kid have the drive and the diligence and the work ethic to to compete at the level that he's gonna have to to succeed in Athens? We hope so. We pray for him. And as always, man, we you can never have enough of those big maulers on the interior offensive line. So number sixty-six, Tyreek Jemison. I wouldn't expect to see a whole lot of him this coming up years. He's probably gonna need a little time in the S and C program to get get ready for big boy football in the SEC. But ⁓ Tyreek Jemison's a name you may get to know in the future and ⁓ Hopefully as we do this in years, years rolling on moving forward, that that that number sixty six will be Tyreek Jemison and once and always as a as a future all American, all SEC offensive lineman. And and let's hope that he's just spends the next four or five years pushing around Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, and Tennessee volunteers. We've got a ⁓ a secondary thought today that's ⁓ you know we we we've been trying to address some some kind of current event topics and and things that I know everybody's dealing with, everybody's going through. And ⁓ today we want to talk a little bit about just kind of some of the economic struggles and and some of the things that that may help shape our perspective while while things are tight. And kind of the the general ⁓ theme of the of this is, you know, when life gets expensive, be sure to not let your heart go cheap. You know, a lot of people right now are are not trying to be greedy or not trying to get rich. They're they're just trying to hang on and get through the week without feeling like it's absolutely eating them alive. Everybody is feeling squeezed. Groceries, gas, insurance, housing, health care, summer trips, taking care of kids' activities and and long-term debt. It just feels like every normal part of life is costing more and more. And people are not just getting frustrated, people are getting tired. Like some people are literally exhausted and near the end of their rope. And and the message here is not that money doesn't matter, because absolutely, I mean, in our society, money does matter. Bills matter, feeding your family matters, gas prices matter, health insurance matters. A parent trying to make a budget work through the month is not a worldly desire. That's just trying to be responsible. But the warning is that You can't let financial pressure shrink your soul. ⁓ you know, going through financial stress can make people bitter, short tempered, jealous, fearful, ungrateful, suspicious. It can make husbands and wives fight, it can make parents snap at kids, it can make people stop giving and stop serving, stop buying things and stop hoping and really start to measure their whole life by the things that they cannot afford. In the in the gospel of Matthew, chapter six, verses thirty one through thirty-three, he says, Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you. Now, this is not, you know, the the gospel here, Matthew's not telling us sit around and do nothing. It's just saying that anxiety cannot become your master. You can't just sit around and worry about things. ⁓ then in Philippians chapter four, eleven through thirteen, Paul says, and and pay attention to the verbiage here. Paul says he has learned how to be brought low and how to abound. The key word here, I believe, is that he learned to do it. Contentment doesn't always come naturally. It rarely does. It has to be practiced. You have to learn how to navigate the world on the same emotional level, even with financial highs and lows and the ups and downs that come with this world. Three talking points regarding this topic. First is Pressure, regardless of any kind, but in this case, financial pressure reveals what we worship. When money gets tight, we find out whether our peace was really in God and in that comfort that the finances provided, or whether or not we're really leaning on the other stuff, the important stuff. Stress can make good people turn hard. A man can be working hard, trying to love his family, and trying to do everything he possibly can to get ahead and to stay afloat. And from time to time still become angry, cold, and and appear joyless just because of the fear that he's carrying all day long, trying to take care of his family. We have to try to avoid that. We cannot let the stresses affect the other things in life. We have to be able to compartmentalize. And then finally, the third point is that gratitude is spiritual resistance. You know, gratitude in no way is meant to deny the struggle. Gratitude is simply refusing to let the struggle control the whole room. Like it it's not just the struggle. There are good things in life all around us, whether we choose to see ⁓ or not. You know, as we speak speak to this from a political standpoint, y you know, ⁓ we absolutely have every right to hold lead leaders accountable when when their policies make life harder for working families. ⁓ you know, yeah, inflation and taxes and energy costs and health care costs and housing prices and all that stuff matters and all that stuff is is a a legitimate issue right now. But even if Washington, DC fixed everything tomorrow, the people that are suffering and complaining would find something else to suffer and complain about. A a heart without God will always find something to fear. You know, maybe today we can't fix the whole economy, but but you can refuse to take your financial stress out on your wife. You can refuse to make your kids feel like they're some sort of financial burden. You can refuse to let envy steal your joy. You can sit down, make a budget. Pray honestly, work faithfully, and trust God one day at a time. So, you know, if if things feel a little expensive, don't let your heart get cheap. Don't become bitter, don't become cold, don't become jealous, don't become someone that your family has to survive being around. Seek first the kingdom of God. Do the next right thing, and thank God for your daily bread. And then remember that your provider is not this economy, it's not this government, and it's not your paycheck. And it's not your bank account. Your provider is the Lord. As we come back to the original theme, trying to control your character versus reputation. Let's ⁓ we can all focus on let's let's stop spending so much energy trying to control our image, but rather let's spend that time trying to develop our character. If your reputation well, in fact, your reputation will always be partly in someone else's hand. I've I've often used the phrase. No matter how talented the artist, no matter how much love and emotion and effort he puts into a painting, he can never control how someone else sees it. And we all have to deal with that reality. Your reputation will always partially be in someone else's hand. But your character is 100% your responsibility and 1000% within your control. People will see what they see, but God will see things that other people never can. And at the end of the day, That's really the only opinion that matters. As always, guys, I love you guys, appreciate the support. If you listen to this, like, subscribe, follow, share, comment, do something to help spread the word. ⁓ and other than that, you know how we close it out here. Get in your Bible, say your prayers, love each other, and tell the truth. God bless.