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. -Galatians 1:10 (NIV)
People who wink at wrong cause trouble, but a bold reproof promotes peace. -Proverbs 10:10 (NLT)
Hi everybody, I’m ________, and I’m a serial people pleaser.
For decades, I walked apart from God, constantly striving for the approval of others: friends, people I wanted to be my friends, coworkers, and family. I couldn’t see how I incorrectly tied self worth and esteem to the outward approval of others. I also couldn’t see, till much later, that people pleasing is the perfect dance partner for takers and abusers.
God changed all that a few years back when He opened my eyes and turned my world upside down. Everything I thought I knew was wrong, because it was shaped by flesh experiences and senses and “common sense.” In many ways, I was trained how to live by the people and world around me, and that can be a very harsh teacher, teaching some wrong thinking with painful results.
With many, I had become codependent for years or even decades, training them that their unacceptable behaviors were acceptable, because I’d go along or not voice opposition to them, for the sake of not making waves. To please them and not upset them.
Well, God wants us to WAKE UP and realize just how twisted those priorities are. There’s a difference between being selfless and hurting all parties involved by enabling sinful behavior. By doing so, we become accomplices in the crime, which does nothing to God’s glory.
There’s only One whose approval we seek, and He has told us that we are pre-approved! Because He loves us so, He sent His Son to die for us, so while we walk this earth, we walk and talk to make Him smile…to glorify Him in every interaction and reaction to others. And when we do that, some people will not be pleased. Some will be very, very upset.
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. -Romans 8:17 (NLT)
But we can rest assured that He is with us as we stand firm and tall, because we are more than conquerors. We are His children, co-heirs to Christ’s throne. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are not made to cower and enable anything not glorifying God. We are servants of Christ, One who lived and walked boldly in the truth.
Walk a new walk with me. Face up to wrongdoing and wrong behaviors. It’s not easy, but with God’s support behind you and through the fire, I testify that He will make you stronger and better than you have ever known, to His glory.
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