Daily Delight
As women, I think we all have a weakness of people pleasing. Whether it's to the extreme or just here and there, we all struggle with it. It can come in the form of doing whatever someone asks of us or it can happen in worrying about what others think of you.
But read what Paul said in 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." Wow. That hits hard. When we people please, we are not a servant of Christ. Which one would you rather be: a people pleaser or a servant of Christ? The obvious answer is a servant of Christ, so why do we try so hard to please people?
We want to please people because our sinful nature believes that our value is found in what others think of us. We feel as if we can do whatever someone asks of us and we'll be their best friend. We set our values in other people and when they fail us, we are crushed.
Our friends, family, coworkers, boss, and strangers are not made to be idolized. They are not created to be the subject of our worship. They will fail us. They are not God. And when we let their opinion of our decisions or choices influence us, we have lost what it means to be a servant of Christ.
When we can truly find our value in Christ, we will stick up for ourselves, not let people walk all over us, and will be able to say no.
When we worry too much abut what others will say about us or our decision, we are wasting time instead of basking in what God says. If it is what He wants us to do, nothing else should matter, because one day, those people who criticize or question us might not have a place in our lives anymore. This life is fleeting. I want to spend my life pleasing God, not people,and wanting the life He has planned for us. I want to take up my cross and follow Him, no matter where He leads.
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