PEOPLE PLEASING

PEOPLE PLEASING

Gal. 1:10 Obviously, I’m not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God! If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant. NLT

      We have a natural tendency to want to be a people pleaser.  We want and like to be liked.  We tend to go out of our way to get people to like us.  It is an urge we must resist if we are going to please God.

      One of the dangers of being people pleasers is that we tend to compromise God’s Word so we don’t offend anyone.  God says some harsh and demanding things about how we ought to live.  He declares many things to be sin that we don’t like to deal with because if we did it would offend someone.  We don’t deal with holiness because it is not a message that is well received by most.  We don’t dwell on the suffering side of faith because no one wants to suffer.  We don’t insist on changed lives because it is not what most are comfortable with doing.   We don’t preach or teach the whole Gospel message because it would make us unpopular and probably very uncomfortable.  We don’t deal with sin because it might offend someone and we want them to know we love them and will not say anything to upset them.

      So often we are swayed by those who are in positions of prominence or who have a lot of monetary influence.  We don’t want to upset them so we tell them what they want to hear.  We cater to the desires of man rather than be obedient to the desires of God.

      You cannot be a people pleaser and be a servant of God.  Being true to the Lord sets us at odds with most people.  The Gospel message divides people.  It is a radically different way of life than most people live.  It is by its nature offensive to those who don’t live it.  It will never make people happy with us when we are faithful to it.  If our proclamation of the Word goes down easy, then we are not proclaiming the whole truth of God.

      What is true in the world is true in the church as well.  It is always wrong to seek to please people in the church.  The truth is meant to make us uncomfortable to the point where we change our attitudes and behavior.  It is never okay to not rock the boat when God’s Word clearly demands that we change.  You cannot please God while you are striving to please man. 

      Besides, being a people pleaser is an impossible task because we cannot please everyone all the time.  There will always be people who will find fault with you or your message, no matter how hard you try.  So, you might as well do the right thing and seek to please God.  After all, who would you rather please in the long run, God or man?