The people closest to us don’t care about our achievements.
Don’t get me wrong. They celebrate when we succeed. But their enthusiasm doesn’t last. Not like the enthusiasm of strangers.
Great writers have fans. Great filmmakers have fans. Great politicians have fans. But none of their fans are their spouses, children, or closest friends.
Michelle Obama isn’t wearing a t-shirt that says HOPE.
Because the people closest to us care more about what kind of people we are than what we have achieved.
Who you are matters more than what you do.
Herod hoped his construction of the new temple would help redeem his reputation with the Jewish people. But it didn’t. Because that achievement didn’t either undo or supplant his prior actions against the Jewish people.
One good achievement doesn’t mask a lifetime of betrayals.
Because who you are matters more than what you do.
Herod achieved architectural, political, and economic greatness. But he was still a scoundrel and his reputation never recovered.
Why are we surprised when our children, or our spouses, or our closest friends aren’t impressed with our grand gestures? our big surprises? our new ventures? Is it because they’re unsupportive?
No.
It’s because–at the end of the day–they know we’ll still be the same people, doing whatever we want in hopes that the latest, greatest, idea will cover up the fact that we’re selfish, fickle, and vain.