Stop Trying To Please Everyone!

Let me preface this whole blog by saying that I am mostly speaking to myself. I am awful at this, and I need this reminder just as much as you may.

We like to be liked, don’t we? It feels good to have people’s approval, and way less good to encounter their disapproval. What is it about us that craves acceptance from others? We long to hear “Good job!” and we cringe and sigh and replay the moments where we were rejected on the movie screens in our heads.

I came across a Scripture this morning that just straight up lays into this type of thinking and blasts it to bits. Check it out:

“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

Whoa. Scripture sure does have a strong stance on this issue. I’m glad it does, too! The beginning chapters of Galatians are all about one thing: GRACE. In our attempts at pleasing others, we often miss out on the fact that we have already done enough (which, in irony, is nothing at all) to receive God’s grace. Because that’s just the thing – we could never earn God’s grace. It’s a free gift! So why do we strive so much to earn the approval of others, whom are not our real judges in the first place?

There will come days when you realize you will not be able to please both people and God. Sometimes, making the choice that you know God wants you to make will make you downright unpopular. But take heart! Our job is to please God, not man. And the best news comes when we realize that our Boss is full of grace and already looks down upon us and sees His Son in us. Win win, right?

Don’t worry about pleasing others. Focus on pleasing God and knowing He is pleased with you already. You don’t have to earn it. You are enough because He chose you.