I remember spending most of my school life pretending I didn’t care what people thought of me when deep down I really did. For many people this doesn’t just last through school – some adults spend half their lives trying to please others and trying to be someone they’re not.

This may not be the case for you. You may already have the ‘Who cares what people think?’ attitude down to a tee! If so, this article is simply to encourage you; if you’re still working on thinking this way, let what follows help you.
I’ve decided to assemble a collection of quotes to get us on fire for God and to help us to only care what He thinks of us …

Pete Greig (a bit of a legend in my opinion!) writes in The Vision and the Vow about a generation rising up, on fire for God:

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive
Inside.
On the outside?
They hardly care.
They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives – swap seats with the man on death row – guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.*

Powerful stuff, hey? The Vision and the Vow has motivated me to stick my neck out on the line for the name of Jesus, and I’m sure it can do the same for you.

Another person who has really encouraged me to not care what the world thinks of me is Shane Claiborne. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He has spent years out in Iraq ministering to people in the scariest places and has done a number of other things, but he says he is, ‘living as an ordinary radical’! In his book The Irresistible Revolution he says:

Dance until they kill you, and then we’ll dance some more.

Most of us are unlikely to be martyrs for our faith, but when we see the eternal picture, I find it makes it easier in the present to stick up for what I believe in and not care what people think, because I know my treasure is in heaven. That’s worth dancing about!
Jackie Pullinger is a missionary who worked in Hong Kong amongst gangs and drug addicts. She says:

It is very much easier to do what God made you for than not.

Let this encourage you when you face tough times doing what God wants you to do. It is so much easier to be living life with God, because with Him we fulfil our purpose; we can find satisfaction in life. Without Him, eventually we simply have nothing.
Lastly, let’s finish with Paul’s famous quote from Romans 1:16:

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes …

Paul couldn’t care less what people thought of him, because he knew the good news he was sharing came from a powerful God, and he wanted everyone to experience the new life he gained in Christ. So, as hard as it is, let’s take courage from these people of faith and step out with a ‘who cares’ attitude. Remember, God is for us, so ultimately we have nothing to fear!

*Pete Greig, The Vision and the Vow (Eastbourne: Kingsway, 2005). Used by permission.