if you please

You know, lately I've had several things washing around in the back of my mind as potential blog topics.  This morning, the following quote appeared on one of the quotes websites that I watch.

Cure yourself of the condition of bothering about how you look to other people. Be concerned only . . . with the idea God has of you.

Miguel de Unamuno

I had asked the Lord to lay on my heart what to write about next.  Thank you, Lord!

Last week, a friend and I were having coffee, and our discussion arrived at the acknowledgment that almost every believer, regardless of goal or claim, still cares a great deal about what other people think.  I certainly include myself in this (to my chagrin,) as I alluded to in one of last week's posts.  Before we come to know Jesus, it is people we look to for [perfect] love and acceptance, a habit that is difficult at best to break.  These attentions we give to others manifest themselves in amazing ways--how we dress, what kind of car one drives, the movies we say we like...

What we say we believe.

Several times in Scripture, the apostle Paul (in context) draws a distinction between pleasing men and pleasing God.  For example, in Galatians 1:10, we read "... If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."  I think that even as our mindset changes (Romans 12:2) we tend to confuse serving people (love your neighbor as yourself) with pleasing people.  It is easy to confuse loving a person (seeking what is in that person's best interest) with making that person happy; very often the two do not overlap at all.  When I take my eyes off of Jesus, I'm in grave danger of catering to the reaction, i.e. acting to make someone happy, rather than letting Christ live through me to love and serve that person.  But it takes God in Christ growing me to know the difference, even though it might seem so simple.  Trusting God to grow me and live His life through me is the basis of a life pleasing to Him (Hebrews 11:6.)

Never, never pin your whole faith on any human being: not if he is the best and wisest in the whole world.  There are lots of nice things you can do with sand; but do not try building a house on it.

C. S. Lewis

We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.

John Stott