Dear friends, my hope is that this short message finds you in good health and will be an encouragement to you.
As humans, we can all agree that we all experience struggles in our life when it comes to character flaws. But it’s no excuse for God’s children to compromise the quality of life that Christ has called us to live. Amen.
One of these struggles that I speak of, Is this struggle of living our lives always to please people. Many people without even realizing it live their entire lives to please other people. Many are too worried about offending others, and many even seem like they wake up every day on a mission just to find ways to impress others.
This poses the question, ‘Why do we find ourselves living in such a way that we would go out of our way just to please those around us or in our lives?’. Well, I believe there are many different reasons but one major reason is because “we have a desire to feel accepted by others”.
Church, I can tell you that all this struggle of living our entire lives to please others is a load that is too big to carry for anyone, and it is surely not the quality of life that the Lord wants for His people! Listen to what Paul says in -
(Galatians 1:10)NKJ 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.
I love how clearly Paul declared this.
For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ!!
In the beginning of Romans he referred to himself as a person who was ‘set apart’ or “separated” for the Gospel.
(Romans 1:1 ) Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God
Here’s my point, see Paul knew exactly who he was and what he was expected to do. But equally important, he also knew exactly who he was not and what he was NOT expected to do! Paul went through a lot to please the Lord, and In the process guess what… he displeased a lot of people as well .
But one thing he never did was concern himself with other people’s displeasure when it came from his Service to the Lord.
Friends, It’s no different for you and me today. We should never COMPROMISE the gospel truth, and our life of Service unto the Lord just to please others. This new life was given to us in Christ Jesus, a life so valuable that Jesus had to hang on the cross for us to receive it! Remember it’s not people we are called to please; it’s our Lord who we are called to please, and Him alone.
See, not only is living simply to please others not biblical, but It’s also an unrealistic expectation. People are hard to please, no matter how much you try, they will always find something wrong with you and a reason to talk. If we are going to choose to please anyone church, let us aim to please the Lord, because at the end of the day, His opinion alone is the one that really matters. Amen
Dear friends, I can tell you that I’ve made my decision on whom I’d rather live to please.
Let me ask you… who have you been aiming to please??? People or God?? With Love,
Your Servant in Christ Jesus, Billy Montes
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)