Pleasing God

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

Galatians 1:10

Here’s a riddle: What do you get when you cross a perfectionist with a people-pleaser? You get stressed-out me. When I’m overscheduled and feeling behind in my efforts to serve, I quickly plummet.

I take my identity as Christ’s servant seriously, and I echo the apostle Paul—I’m trying to please God. However, the reality is that sometimes I waver between living to please God and going overboard trying to please other people.

When I get stuck on this seesaw, I have to stop myself in my own weak tracks and figure out why I am upset and lacking peace. God’s Holy Spirit illumines my heart and shows me that many times it is because I have been trying to please people more than Him. This tendency is a human frailty—a weakness in my people-pleasing personality.

A simple example of this shift is when I get bossy with my family. Have you ever worked your fingers to the bone trying to get ready for company so that by the time your guests arrived you wished they weren’t coming? You wanted everything to be just right, but you got caught up in the details.

Maybe you start ordering your family members around like I’ve been guilty of—barking at them to vacuum and empty the dishwasher—and in your haste, you become a stressful, not restful, woman. But then the doorbell rings . . . and you cheerfully greet your guests while you are still unsweet inside.

Getting bossy with my family is just one good indicator that I have crossed the line to perfectionistic people-pleasing. The crazy thing is, these actions certainly don’t please God or the people in my family!

We already have God’s approval in Jesus Christ. We please Him simply by being His. The wonderful result of being His is the contentment and peace that only comes from knowing Jesus Christ. This changes everything. You and I can cheerfully welcome others into our home or reach out in many other ways because of God’s open heart to us.

Let’s live to please God and not to gain others’ approval!