Pleasing God!

Pleasing God! 

For do I now persuade men, or God? 

or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10 KJV

Paul writes to the churches of Galatia, and the focus was on the ease with which these people had moved away from the initial teachings of Paul and had embraced another 'gospel', if that is what it is to be called. Paul and his companions had laboured for many years, teaching and preaching Christ but men with ulterior movies had come in to try and establish a contrary message. Note, as long as we are down here, it is a constant battle between Truth and falsehood. God is at work, and so is the devil. It will be foolishness to think that salvation provides a permanent barrier to hearing or encountering falsehood. It will keep coming, but who I know as Truth is strong enough to keep my heart from the deceit of falsehood.

Paul had to make it clear: if anyone, including himself, preaches any other gospel except what he had always preached, let that person be cursed. That is such a strong point, but one that has to be emphasized in this day and time. As I take stock of my own life, what have I invested my time in? Can I pray the same prayer: that if I ever preach or teach anything other than Christ and him crucified, let there be a curse on me? If I know the value of a human soul to God, I would not toy with it. If I know the joy that heaven has when a soul repents and turns to God, I would not want to do anything to jeopardise that soul.

And Paul's message in today's extract is quite telling: I am not after the approval or applause of men. I do not need or want it; it is of no earthly or eternal value to me. Paul says: let it be clear that God's approval is all that I need. Man is fickle, and he is more concerned about impressions, applause and popularity. A man who will impact the world has to free himself from man's expectations. You can't play both sides: please man and please God at the same time. Actually, if you can please God, God will raise men who will listen to the truth and be saved. But pleasing man should not be the motivation for what I do or say; it has to be that God is the author and inspiration behind all that I do. 

Note Paul's conclusion: if I still seek after pleasing men, I am not a servant of Christ. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot hold allegiance in equal measure to two different and competing eternal realities. Can that be said about me today? It is not about what I tell myself but about what God thinks of me. I must therefore seek his view for my life, not the ever changing opinions of men like myself. Who do I serve? Who do you serve? Who dictates your terms of service? If it is not God, it will not end well. His time of favour is here.