For am I now seeking the favour of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10
Are we people pleasers or God pleasers? Does people’s opinion matter more than God? Paul is saying in this verse, that the gospel he preaches is not meant to please man. He does not want to tickle ears. Some people have perverted the truth and Paul wanted to clarify what the gospel really is. We see in this verse, Paul’s heart and motive. It is to be faithful to God and the message that was given to him and to faithfully proclaim it to all nations. This is an example for us. Our motives should be to do God’s will according to the Word and not our own will according to our own worldly wisdom. We must be careful or we might find ourselves fighting against the Living God. Paul said that he would no longer be a servant of Christ if he was trying to please man and seek the approval of man. Some people seek the approval man over the approval of God. They want to be recognized for all they do and in their pride they want everybody to see how great they are. As servants of God we want everyone to see how great God is.
People were always upset with Paul because he spoke the truth. People did not want to hear the truth so they tried to kill him many times. They stoned, ridiculed, gossiped, slandered and persecuted him because they couldn’t handle the truth. Paul was fighting against a false gospel. Some false gospels do not point out our sin. Some false gospels do not tell us that we are sinners deserving hell and that we are under God’s wrath. That the only way out is in Christ, not our works, gifts, talents or any other worldly thing. The real gospel tells us that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead conquering the grave and breaking the power of sin over our lives. That Jesus lived a sinless life and fulfilled the requirements of the law, making reconciliation to the Father possible. That we were once separated from God but when we repent and put our trust in Him we are saved, not by works but by grace alone through faith. True repentance means that we turn away and hate sin.
Paul is saying that he is not a people pleaser so he will continue to preach the full gospel message. The truth of the gospel points out our sin but some people do not want to hear about their sin, they just want to hear about how good they are and how God will bless them for their good behaviour. They are grossly deceived and are people pleasers. They care more about what people think about them than they do about what the Word says. Are you a people pleaser or a God pleaser? Make the decision today because time is short and we can die tonight. God can take us away right now, are you ready for tonight?