Daniel 12:3 “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

When “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” it’s obvious that this is talking about those who fear, love, and serve God. Those who serve God don’t need to worry about recognition here on earth! One point to pay attention to here is that of making people righteous. When we think of “making people righteous” we tend to think of imposing a system or rules on them, but that is the righteousness of the Pharisees. Ours must go beyond that. Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees, which is to say, it must come from within. We make people righteous by teaching them to open their hearts to God and His Word by the Holy Spirit, so that they may do His will because they want to, not because someone else is watching. It’s interesting that this verse uses the word “stars,” because we call entertainers “stars,” and many people want to become “stars.” If you’re looking at it from the perspective of this verse, that’s not a bad ambition!

I don’t think I’ve focused on it especially, but I can’t deny that I enjoy recognition as much as anyone. Frankly, there are times when I’d like a bit more! However, that just demonstrates my need to grow more, to have my values and priorities straightened out further. At the same time, I need to recognize the need that everyone has to be appreciated, and express appreciation and recognition to others in a genuine, unforced way. As a pastor, that has been one of my weak points. People have been hurt by my failing to express appreciation to them personally, whether or not they want to be recognized in front of the church. It is a recognized weakness of the Teacher gifting to fail to recognize and reward progress, that is, partial success, saving such recognition for completion. That’s one of the reasons I can be sure I have Teacher gifting! However, that’s not to be an excuse. I am to encourage believers to work for the Lord and His recognition, but I am not to put them down for needing some human recognition as well. I am to be an Encourager, even if that isn’t one of my major gifts!

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s very timely. It looks like my time here (in Miyagi Prefecture) will be very different from what I had imagined, but that is in Your hands. I pray that the time spent with the young man who will be driving me around today will be a real blessing to him, building him up and shaping him into the man You want him to be. I pray that I may interact with each person we encounter today as You intend, serving and encouraging, comforting and building up, so that they may see Christ through me, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!