Those of you who may not be pirates ...but, who may have lived a life in such an unforgiving way, that you feel you are not any better than a lowly pirate ...well, I have this to say to you:

You may think there's nothing about you that could possibly be 'liked'.  You may think you can never be forgiven for all the things you've done.

Well, you are wrong if you think this.

It is not about how many mistakes you've made ...it's more about your attitude towards them.  And it's not performance based, nor how well you succeed in overcoming the storms in your life.  It's about who you look to ...to get through the storms.

If I want to be a reformed pirate ...it's not about how long it takes for me to change my ways, it's about whether I want to change.

I hear the line, "Nobody's perfect!"  And that's true.

And though we can't imagine being perfect, we can all improve.  
What marks improvement??

It begins with accepting ...not just the idea of Jesus, nor the Name of Jesus, but what Jesus has said.  If it wasn't important, he wouldn't have said it.

How could we possibly say we accept Jesus, if we don't accept what He has chosen is important to have said to us??

And how can we please God??  By doing as He has clearly said.

I've also heard the line, "I can't do anything to please you!!"

It doesn't matter whether it is an adult addressing a child, a child expressing themselves to an adult, one spouse venting to another, or a worker assessing a relationship with an employer ...it usually involves independent ideas, not committed to solving anything.  And concerning God, we can do little or nothing to please Him ...other than accepting how He chose to love us, by sending Jesus. Who would argue that loving us is not pleasing us??

But, what becomes our major struggle, and the confusion that leads so readily to deception??  It is that we feel we know what's best for us.

What do we value more?  Is it acceptance, to be liked, or to be loved??

Most young people can't discern between being 'liked' and being loved.  Most of them are told they are loved by their parents ...and many of them don't view that as anything out of the ordinary.  They often don't know what it would be to not be told that by their parents, so they reserve the special feelings to other situations of acceptance.

Acceptance is often linked to a feeling of being 'liked'.

We see this drama played out on venues such as Facebook.  It makes a person feel special by the large number of 'like's, often compared to the number of 'like's someone else receives.  And they learn quickly what type of stuff generates the most 'like's.

It is an extension of what often takes place in social settings, one of the first ...being school.  There are those who are popular in school, and we see rules of engagement ...often which become rather cruel and insensitive at times.