“I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do: That is character!”
–Theodore Roosevelt
If we become overly concerned about what others might think of our actions, we tend to behave like people who are trying to win a popularity contest. That is certainly not the way to build character. With God’s guidance, we must develop our own strong sense of what is right and wrong, and then follow the dictates of our own conscience without being overly concerned about what other people think. If we develop strong convictions and live by them, we can be sure that we will be criticized from time to time. Most great people have also been controversial people. For example, although Abraham Lincoln was loved by millions, he was also hated by many people and ultimately lost his life to one of them.
It is really not important what others think or say about our actions. What is important is that we try to live a life that is consistent with our own values and one that we think would be pleasing to God. We may have different ideas as to some of the specifics of what we think God would want us to do, but, in general, most of us have a pretty clear picture of what we think would please God. This should be our compass to guide us in our actions. Instead of focusing on what people will think about our actions, we should concern ourselves with what we, and God, will think of what we do.
Why are so many of us so concerned about what other people think of us? Most of us are socially insecure and have a strong need for friends. Some of us may be content to have a small number of close friends, but others of us seem to want everyone to be our friends. We want people to like us, and we try to avoid doing things that will give anyone cause to criticize us. In short, we want to always be popular. But this is impossible. All of us will be criticized at times, no matter what we do. And people who continually modify their behavior in an effort to remain popular are like puppets on a string. They have lost all control of their behavior and are at the mercy of the ever-changing whims of public opinion.
If we want to be in control of our lives and be able to do whatever we think is right, then we must give up our ongoing pursuit of popularity. We must recognize that there is no way we can prevent some people from being critical of us at times, and if we try to prevent it by modifying our behavior, we are not being faithful to either our own convictions or the will of God.
Think about it.
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Copyright 2026
Allen W. Smith
