Our recent bout with winter weather reminds me of a story about an old railroad conductor.

It seems that on one particularly frigid night, he was ever-so-carefully punching tickets at the entrance to a train car.

Several of the passengers were huddled outside, shivering in the cold, waiting to get on board, when suddenly one of the folks said in a rather critical tone, “You’re not very popular tonight, conductor.” To which the conductor calmly replied, “I’m mainly interested in being in good standing with the superintendent of this railroad.”

Doing what is right is not always popular, but our primary goal ought to be to place our “Heavenly Superintendent” and not to worry so much about what other people say.

The Bible urges, “Therefore we make it our aim … to be pleasing to Him” (1 Corinthians 5:9).

Good reader, which is more important to you: to be pleasing to God, or to be pleasing to men? Think about it.

Mike Benson