Vital Signs: Sunday, September 15, 2024

God Pleaser OR People Pleaser

"I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to Himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning." — Galatians 1:6-7, 10-11 (NLT)

Paul confronted the Galatian church members about their shockingly quick turn from the Good News of Jesus Christ. He spoke hard truths, not to please people, but to please God. Then he confronts us: If pleasing people is our goal, we are not truly serving Christ. We might convince ourselves that we are humble servants as people pleasers, but in reality, we have abandoned the priority of pleasing God and made comfort our biggest priority. Sometimes, it is uncomfortable to present the truth, but it pleases God when we do!