For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
[Galatians 1:10 ESV]

For the Christian in today’s world, the temptation is to please “man” as it were. It’s why we have seen so many churches sell out and preach a Gospel that is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to attract the crowds. It’s why we have seen many Christians back peddle on what they first confessed to be the truth in order to fit in. It’s why many hard-core, Bible-believing, Jesus-faithful Christians are being persecuted today; accused of being hate-filled or discriminatory or old-fashioned. So the choice is to either buckle under; going along with the crowd or paddle upriver, as it were; being shot at from the shore. But to sell out and go with the crowd is not being a servant of Christ. And so, when put that way, I would rather please my Lord, who lives forever, than the lords of this world, who won’t live forever.

A wise mentor once told me, “If you find it easy being a Christian in today’s world, then you’re probably doing it wrong.” That makes a lot of sense, for you see, Jesus never promised that following him would be easy, rather, he promised that he would be with us always. And since that is the case, why not work to please the Lord rather than the lords.

So don’t worry if you are not pleasing “man”. Don’t worry if you are not popular. Don’t worry if the world seems to be against you. Don’t worry if you don’t fit in. Rather, rejoice that you have been found worthy to suffer for the Gospel. After all, it’s not about making people happy but rather living in the joy of the Lord; glorifying and worshiping Him. And who knows, your faithfulness to the Truth just may get noticed to the glory of God.

The Pastor -|—