Free from the Pressure to Please People

As we bring this week of plastic-gift-talking, not-counting-on-online-banking-for-tracking-my-finances conversations to a close, I'd like for us to allow every bit of the information from this week to also encourage us to be free from the pressure to please people. We've talked about shopping for gifts and we've talked about passing out plastic presents. We've talked about giving and we've talked about receiving.

Whether our buying power is being focused on Christmas, birthdays, or some other reason to purchase gifts, we have to be clear on what we're buying for people and why we're buying them. It's one thing to give gifts or spend our money on people out of the kindness of our hearts. It's another thing to do it because it's expected of us. It's fine if I ask you what you want for your birthday, graduation, or Christmas and you expect to receive one of those items from me, but it's not okay to tell me to what to buy you.

A gift card isn't really a gift if you're pressuring me into purchasing it for you, and cash isn't a loan when a person says, "Eh, let me hold a twenty for a minute." So, why do so many of us put unhealthy amounts of energy into pleasing others? How is it that we are adamant about who we are, what we'll do, and what we won't do when it comes to so many other areas of our lives but then allow our friends to dictate where we shop and how we spend our money?

If you're reading this and feeling a bit convicted, I encourage you to embrace your freedom. You and I are free from the pressure to please people. So, let's resolve to maintain that freedom and live apart from the selfish demands of others! Have a fabulous Friday!