People-Pleasin'

Galatians 1:10
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.


I am, in my nature, a people-pleaser. I like everyone to be happy, life to be fair, and everyone to like me. As a result, I find that I am constantly having to fight against my instinct to say what will please the other person, rather than what is good and right. However, some of what Christ has to say is difficult to swallow, to say the least, and so I really don’t like being the one who has to deliver such a message. I hardly doubt that I am alone in this, especially among the women out there.

This verse goes against my very nature, even though I can see and even admit whole-heartedly that it is true. In my ministry, God has not given me the luxury of smooth-talking and flattery. I must speak the truth in love. It is what God has asked me to do. At first I stuck to the easy passages, the ones everyone could agree one, the ones that made me feel warm and fuzzy. They did not push my boundaries too far, question my actions too heavily, or invade my fluffy, pseudo-Christian space too much. Oh, but God has so much more in mind.

So we shall go deeper with Him, into the mysteries and difficulties of our Christian faith. And when we are there, we will be faced with the same question: Will we face these uncomfortable truths? Will we face where we have gone wrong and then change? Will we see in ourselves that which is not fitting of a disciple of Christ? Or will we stay comfy and cozy learning and re-learning only that which makes us comfortable? God looks at each and every one of us and asks, “Are you now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or are you trying to please men? If you are still trying to please men, you are no servant if Mine.” Ouch. We have received a call to action!

God pushes me each and every day farther out of my comfort zone, and further into His glorious, and rich reality. He desires to do the same with you. If we desire to live a radical life - the life of a disciple of Christ - that means that we will probably be uncomfortable a lot, possibly even in complete agony at times. In my situation, it just so happens that this means sharing with you the difficult truths. The ones that make us squirm, and think, and question, and maybe even doubt. Many times we will be faced with two options - believe it in faith, or don’t. God is so far above and beyond us, that so many times when we ask “why?” we get a very parental “Because” in response. He is God, we are not, will we trust Him? Faith in action.

I suppose I write this thought out of my deep-rooted desire not to offend any of you - it’s that people-pleaser in me. On the other hand, I think that it’s only fair that I should warn you that we’re going to start venturing deeper into the depths, further into the treasures of darkness. What we will find there, I cannot even begin imagine - but I do know that the most brilliant gems are found in the deepest mines surrounded by the greatest darkness. We need not fear - we have the Eternal Light as our guide, and we are sure to see Him as ever-more glorious, as the darkness thickens and threatens to consume us!