Do I seek to please men?
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 (Galatians 1:10 KJV)
Pleasing people rather than pleasing God is a major trial and temptation for every minister. Paul encountered the same problems. His message of justification by grace and not by obeying the Law was very offensive to the Jews.
If he had changed his message and said something in the line of “it is OK to be a christian and still obey the Jewish laws, be circumcised , etc” , the jews would have welcomed it and his persecutions would have ceased. However, he would have been doing what the people wanted him to do and not what God wants him to do.
Paul states very emphatically that if his goal is to please men, he cannot be a servant of Christ. This is just an extension of the basic truth we know: the Spirit is against the flesh and the flesh is against the Spirit. Human interests are always against the interest of God. It is just part of the fallen human nature.
Things have become worse in this era of TV, internet and social media. The pressure is mounting by the hour. You need to pray for your pastors, minister and leaders. The temptation to customize God’s message to please the hearers is a deadly weapon in Satan’s hands to destroy the church from its foundation. We need to please God and not men.
MEDITATE
Why is it such an impossible task to do what the world( the crowds) want and please God at the same time?
APPLY THE WORD
Have you ever felt bad because someone disliked your post or wrote a negative comment? If yes, then you are simply had a small glimpse of the pressure of ministers in the struggle between pleasing people and pleasing God. Be careful with the ministry God has given you.Beware of trying to please people at the expense of what God wants you to do.
PRAY
Pray that the Father will give you “the guts” it takes to stand against he crowd when needed to do the right thing God wants you to do.
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