Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
People, by and large, are pleasers of people. Everyone wants to be accepted by their fellowman and most of what we do and how we act is determined by what we think others will expect of us. We may proclaim that is not the case but our lifestyles betray our confessions.
Here is the unmistakable truth: There is a day coming when we will stand before God. And knowing that, we are worried about being accepted of men? In the not too distant future, we will encounter the Righteous Judge. At that judgment seat appearance, will we be acceptable to God? He alone is the one that should cause us concern; yet we continue to live our lives, fearful of men and anxious about what they think, resulting in our constant 'performance' for their approval.
In my opinion, it's a matter of comparison and contrast. Allow me to explain. Let's say that there are two men standing before you. The first is a 5' 6", 90 pound weakling, capable of bench pressing a whopping 10 pounds. The other is a 6' 6", 250 pound hulk-of-a-man who can bench 700+ pounds and is one of the meanest, orneriest men on earth. Of the two, who should you fear most? Hands down, the hulkster should provoke the greatest apprehension and fear. Likewise, he will prove to be the one that you seek to please.
Here's my point. You may be scared out of your wits of that 6' 6" brute but he is nothing... a mere grasshopper compared to God. All the mighty forces of all the nations of the world combined would be but a drop in the bucket compared to God, and yet we fear the grasshopper?!
So what does it matter if we are fearful of others? It was William Gurnall who said, "We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. One fear cures another. When man's terror scares you, turn your thoughts to the wrath of God." You see, we may fear man but if we know even the slightest bit about God, we will fear Him in a greater way, and that fear of God will emaciate our fear of man.
Is there a tendency in all of us to want to be accepted by people? Without question. However, if we believe that God is who He says He is, then our desire to be accepted by people will dissipate once we come to the reality of the need to be acceptable to God.
Here's the bottom line: What does it matter if others judge us? Why be upset if others mock us? Why should we care if others call us fools? The only thing that is going to matter and have any bearing on eternity is that day when we will stand alone before a just God. Nothing hidden. All revealed.
We should not be concerned with getting our best life now! We need not focus on our feeble, unsuccessful attempts at being man-pleasers. Rather, we should be fix our attention on how we will fare on the day that we meet God face to face. Heb 10:31 could not be any clearer, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
So why fear the grasshoppers?
This is exactly what I have been thinking about... it feels like I am naturally wired to people please and I have to fight it every day. I wish I didn't care. I realize the more I stay in relationship with the Lord... the less I struggle. Thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteI live with 'people pleasers'. My bride lays claim to that title, as well as my dad. But in pondering on this subject, I find that people pleasers are usually servants... and boy do we need servants in the body of Christ. Too man wanting to be served in this time in which we live.
ReplyDeleteWe thank the man pleasers for caring. You have made this world a better place. You don't want not to care. You now need to progress to the place where, with an honest heart, you serve and allow God to take care of those being served.
In other words, you have seeded your service... your time, talent and treasures to God and to your brothers and sisters in Christ. Now step back and allow God to take your seed and use it for His glory. Redirect you focus to Him, thanking Him for the opportunity to 'please'... no, the opportunity to serve. Allow God to takes care of the attitudes of the one being served.
You have served with a God-attitude. You can know that your efforts will receive eternal reward. Now on to the next one who needs your 'special-kind-of-attention.' Keep you focus on God and not man.