Friday, March 9, 2012

Pleasing People or Pleasing God?

Am I trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. -Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

Earlier this week, our Conference Board of Ordained Ministry met with candidates seeking ordination in The United Methodist Church. The candidates had submitted written material describing their call, their understanding of God, and providing evidence of their fruitfulness for ministry. On Monday and Tuesday, the board sat down for face-to-face interviews with the candidates. As the chair of the board, I met with the candidates yesterday to inform them of the board's recommendation as to their readiness for moving forward in the ordination process.

It's hard to believe that it's been fifteen years since I went through this process of ordination. I still remember the anxiety of interviewing with the board and waiting to hear their recommendation. I also remember being tempted to share with the board, not necessarily what I personally believed, but what I thought that the board wanted to hear. Surely the process would be easier if I avoided anything controversial or divisive and just tried to answer the questions the way I thought would win favor with the board, right?

In Galatians 1, Paul acknowledges that he used to try to please people when he wrote, "If I were still trying to please people...". Apparently, some think that Paul is still trying to please people and that he has watered down the truth of God by (among other things) not requiring newly converted Gentile Christians to be circumcised. These adversaries of Paul believed that before a Gentile could become a Christian, they must first become a Jew.

Paul refutes the charge that he's watering down the gospel by saying that he no longer tries to please people; he only tries to please God. God's approval is the only thing that matters to Paul now; he is a servant of Christ. Some translations use the word "slave" instead of servant, which many find problematic. But for Paul, to be a slave for Christ means that his entire life is under the Lordship of Jesus and that he lives under the authority of Jesus. He is seeking to satisfy not his own will or the will of others, but only the will of God.

I'm still tempted to be a people pleaser. Sometimes it's easier to say what people want me to say rather than to take a stand. More times than I care to admit, I seek the approval of others more than I seek the approval of God. But the longer I've immersed myself in Scripture, the more convinced I've become of the importance of serving and pleasing God.

What about you? Who are you trying to please? May God grant you the grace to seek the favor of God rather than the favor of people today.


If you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year, tomorrow's suggested readings are Deuteronomy 16-18 and Galatians 2. Sunday's readings are Deuteronomy 19-21 and Galatians 3. I'll be back with a devotional on Monday.

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