I often get stony silence whenever I tell people what I do for a living. I talk to folks all the time who, after they hear that I’m a preacher, suddenly clam up and feel as though they have to “watch what they do” around me.

Isn’t it funny what we don’t want the preacher or the teacher or our parents to know about us? While at the same time we forget that God is all-knowing and all-wise. It may seem that at times those in authority over us may have eyes in the backs of their heads, but they too can be fooled. God can’t. God knows. And yet we often live our lives seemingly independent of Him as though He’s not even there.

Nothing you do should be done for the sake of the preacher or the teacher or your parents, but for God—whose desire it is that you obey those He has given you in authority. I tell my congregation all the time, “Don’t do what’s right because I said it—do it because God says it. And do it because you love God, not because you have to.”

That’s really what it is—love for God—that should motivate our service, our lifestyle.

So don’t be afraid of the preacher. Be mindful of God, who desires that your life please Him to the utmost.