“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5
I had initially entitled lesson four, “Be God-Honoring Not People-Pleasing.” I changed it because of Romans 12:18 –“As much as it is up to you, be at peace with everyone.” Catering to the needs of others isn’t always a bad thing. But at what point does concern about what people think of you become out of order?
If your social status and the opinion of others, including the “Good Christians,” is more important to you than how God sees you, you may need a focus-shift. When people-pleasing gets a higher ranking than making God happy, your vision gets blurred, and you can lose your way. Plus, even good people can give bad advice.
When your friend’s opinion is not in line with what Scripture tells you, who do you listen to? What is motivating you? Are you going along with the crowd, or staying in line with God’s Word?
In every crossroads moment, check yourself. Which choice will honor God? What’s my motivation?
When you hear the popular mantra, “Speak your truth,” what does that mean to you? I’m not hating on Oprah–I believe the positive origin of the phrase was a call not to be afraid to speak up about the events in our lives. That can be healthy. At the same time, it’s dangerous to believe that our personal take is the same as truth.
We all have opinions, individual viewpoints based on our unique journeys and personalities, yes. But, girl, there is only one Source of Truth. And it’s not based on my perspective. Or your particulars.
Truth is not customizable.
There is no your truth, or my truth.
Truth is whatever God has to say on any matter. Period.
When we custom-design our beliefs to fit our comfort-zone or align ourselves with the faulty view of others, we are working straight out of the enemy’s book of tricks and traps.
Honoring God over people-pleasing means His way is chosen above all others–even our own impulses and preferences.
Remember the David-Bathsheba Debacle of 989-BC? (2 Samuel 11) In that self-gratifying moment, David, the “man after God’s own heart,” was taking less of a WWJD stand, and more of a Do What Feels Good/You Do You behavioral approach. The guy was as human as the rest of us. He made mistakes. Still, God knew David’s deepest desire and motivation was to please the Lord and be in relationship with Him.
A longing to put God first doesn’t mean you’re always going to pull it off perfectly. Just like David, when your humanity lets you down, your heart’s deepest, purest intentions are what moves God to rescue and restore you.
So, my friend, who are you trying to please?
Next Week: Lesson Five–Be Grateful… No Matter What
