Seeking Approval
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. Galatians 1:10
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Paul knew that if he was going to be a real servant of Christ, he could not tiptoe around the message that the people of Galatia needed to hear. They were in much danger of being led astray by false teaching, and he did not make apologies for his bluntness or straightforwardness in steering them back to the truth. Paul knew that he was dealing with life-and-death issues because the Judaizers’ perversion of the gospel of Christ was spreading like wildfire throughout Galatia. “I am trying to please God,” he proclaimed. He was clear on who his real audience was: God. Is our focus on pleasing people or on pleasing God? What dilemmas, situations, concerns, or people do you face that tempt you not to speak out in boldness or not to live in a way that will bring God the greatest honor and glory? Just as Paul did, we can exchange being a people pleaser for a much higher calling—being a servant of Christ!
Prayers:
LORD, I desire to live as Christ’s servant and not as a people pleaser. I realize that I cannot seek the approval of others as I live for you. It is your approval alone that I seek, the approval that really counts. Help me to speak and act in boldness and love as I serve you.
Quotes:
Teach us, good Lord, to serve thee as thou deservest; To give and not to count the cost; To fight and not to heed the wounds; To toil and not to seek for rest; To labor and not to ask for any reward, Save that of knowing that we do thy will. Amen.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
The One Year Bible Readings for today are: Isaiah 15:1–18:7; Galatians 1:1-24; Psalm 58:1-11 and Proverbs 23:12.
