Preaching a False Gospel: The People Pleaser
Galatians 1:10 NIV
"Am I now 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."
Believe me when I say that I could preach on this topic all day. I have spent almost my entire life trying to please other people, with the exception of my early childhood. Over the course of my life, I have spent years trying to impress coaches for starting positions. I have spent countless hours dieting and putting on makeup, not to mention spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on clothes and shoes that would win me the favor of the "cool" crowd. I have even changed my personality and became someone I truly wasn't in order to fit in and get people to like me. For the longest time, I thrived off of winning over the favor of people. Even to this day, though in very rare instances, I still find myself slipping up here and there in order to seek acceptance on this earth. However, after knowing what I know now, I've come to realize that our worth does not lie in the favor of humans, but in the favor of Christ.
The Apostle Paul makes this point in his letter to the Galatians, when confronts them about people confusing them with false Gospel's. Just as I did and said what people wanted to hear in order to please them, there were people of Paul's time that would tell the people of Galatia what they wanted to hear about Christ-even if it wasn't true. The problem with this lifestyle is that it's not only tiresome, but confusing. However, if we remain transparent about our lives (instead of preaching a false Gospel) and acknowledge that our worth is in Christ and not people, we will see just how tiring being a people pleaser can really be. Not to mention it doesn't serve Christ in the slightest. Give yourself some rest.
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