For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. - Galatians 1:10
I have been, falsly I assure you, accused in the past of being a contrarian. Some people seem to think that I delight in being different and in expressing a different view or an opinion than everyone else. I don't know where they get that idea. I always like to go along with the crowd and to make everyone happy.
Okay, maybe it's not unjustified. But despite that I still think in a general sense well like to make people happy. We can be real people pleasers, and that's not always bad.
But what about when pleasing others comes into conflict with pleasing God. What if pleasing God is going to displease man or pleasing man is going to displease God?
When that happens we have no choice but to make the same decision Paul made. If I am bond to please men I cannot be Christ's bond servant. It only makes sense. I can't serve masters because eventually they are going to conflict.
I do hate to disappoint people. I hate to hurt people. I want people to like me. I want people to think of me as a nice guy. I want people to like me. But there are going to be times when my choosing to please God is going to disappoint people. I don't have to be a jerk about it. I don't have to be pious and haughty and 'better than you' about it. But I do have to please God in all I say and do. I just need to do it in as caring and loving a way as I can.
I can't always make everyone happy, but I can strive to please God in my life. I just want to love people even if I can't always pleae them.
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