Am I trying to please man? - Daily Devotional October 2nd 2009

Daily Bible Reading - 1 Chronicles 16, Ezekiel 28, Galatians 1-2

Am I trying to please man?

One road I think we have all been down a time or two or maybe your walking down it now, is the road of pleasing man. This is such an empty and shallow road and too often time it turns into a vicious circle. The problem with circles is that they have no beginning and no end. There is an old saying that goes like this, "you can please some of the people all the time and you can please all the people some of the time, but you can never please all the people all the time".

Pleasing people is something Paul addresses here in Galatians chapter one. Paul comes right out and says it pretty simple and plain in vs 10 of chapter 1. He states that I am not trying to please man or win their approval because if I was I would not be a servant of Jesus Christ. This statement is so powerful because it underlines the essence of being a Christ follower. We must understand that which I get my approval from is the thing or person I want to try and please and serve. If I get my approval from man then I will try to please man all my life but if I get my approval from God then I will please and serve Him.

It is obvious where Paul gets his approval from by his statement in Galatians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle— not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead". Paul addresses himself as an apostle then pauses and says oh by the way I am an apostle not because of what you guys think or say but because that's who Christ Jesus said I am, oh and in case you forgot who Jesus is He is the one that God raised from the dead. Not only does Paul say that he is getting his approval from Jesus Christ therefore that's who he serves. He is saying that because I am pleasing God and not man I am walking with resurrection power.

Paul was beat down time and time again. He was ridiculed time and time again but none of this mattered to him because he was not trying to please man therefore he did not need their approval. There is another old saying that goes like this, "you can tell how popular a church is by how many people come on a Sunday morning, you can tell how popular a preacher is by who comes on Sunday night, you can tell how popular Jesus is by who shows up to the prayer meetings." In essence this statement is saying that if you find more satisfaction in spending time in the things of man rather than in the things of God you may be pleasing people and not God.

Lately many people have asked me how can we experience more of the presence of God in our lives and how can we see more miracles happen. My response to that today would be this. Stop finding your approval in man and you will stop trying to please them. Start finding your approval in Jesus Christ and you will please and serve Him, oh and by the way Jesus is the one that God raised from the dead so you can walk with that authority too.

Look at your life today and look at where you are spending your time. Ask yourself, "am I trying to please man?"

Tomorrows Bible Reading - 1 Chronicles 17, Ezekiel 29, Galatians 3-4

Dream Big
Ben