If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Summary: Pleasing God and pleasing people are at odds with each other. They always have been, and they always will be.
Here’s an interesting thought: What if your hopes of spending eternity in heaven depended on pleasing Jesus rather than pleasing people here on earth?
Let’s look at that question another way.
What if pleasing Jesus was more important than pleasing your boss at work? What if pleasing Jesus was more important than pleasing your spouse or your kids? What if pleasing Jesus was more important than pleasing yourself?
Here’s a news flash for you: It is.
If we claim to believe in Jesus but are in bed with a criminal syndicate, we are in trouble. If we say we believe, while at the same time, everything else we say is a lie, we are in trouble. If we put Jesus at the bottom of our list of people we are trying to impress, we are also in trouble.
How much trouble are we in?
That is a question only Jesus can answer. Each person’s situation is unique, and only Jesus can know what is in our hearts. So, we can’t say what the eternal consequences will be, but we can know that putting God first is important. Vitally important.
Paul understood this.
The reason Paul’s writings are so focused on how believers behave is that our behavior reflects our beliefs. Paul understands that our words reflect our thoughts and our actions reveal what is in our hearts.
The idea that modifying our behavior changes who we are is not new. Paul understood this two thousand years ago. If we are to become more Christlike, we need to act more Christlike. Hopefully, Christ in us is being reflected in what we say and do. Sometimes, being more Christlike is as simple as trying to act more Christlike.
The Greatest Commandment is to love God above all else (Matthew 22:37-38). Loving God is the antidote to love of self. When we love ourselves first, we put ourselves above everyone else. We are constantly frustrated and unhappy because we are the only one who recognizes how important we are.
However, when we love God first, something wonderful happens. The Second Great Commandment is to love others as we love ourselves. Suddenly, we see ourselves differently. Instead of being the most important person in the world, we now see a world of people who are important to God. Instead of frustration and unhappiness, life is fulfilling and happy as we serve God by serving others.
And the happiest moment of all?
Discovering that others who put God first love you and me, too.
Application: Love God above all else.
Food for Thought: How did wanting to please God first change Paul’s life when he met Jesus?
Acts 9 is the first biblical account of Paul’s conversion. What is amazing is that when Paul understood that Jesus is Lord, we see an instantaneous transformation. Everything changed with three words, “I AM Jesus.”
Paul was all in on God – he just didn’t know Who God was. And so when he was blinded by the light and heard the heavenly voice, he asked “Who are You Lord?” Hearing “I AM Jesus” was all he needed to know and he went from persecutor of the church to its greatest human ally. He went from persecuting Jesus to wanting to please Jesus in an instant.
If we encounter the risen Lord, our response should probably be similar. If He is Lord, then He is our Lord. And pleasing Him should become our top priority. Everything changes when we truly meet Jesus.
Thank you, Rich!
I like the emphasis on Yahweh (“I AM”). And I completely agree, “Everything changes when we truly meet Jesus.” 🙂
When I think about Paul, he was placed in a very interesting place in life before his conversion. He lived in a time where the religious leaders valued the law above loving God and their neighbor. He himself was well-educated in the law. He also lived in a time when Jesus came, taught, died and was resurrected, and the Church was forming. Knowing what I have read about Paul I do not think it is unreasonable to think that he himself learned about “the Way” in an effort to know “his enemy.” When he met Jesus the full truth, the big picture, was revealed to him. Jesus assembled all the pieces. Paul himself was set free from every doubt about his life and his purpose. He himself saw sin for what it was, saw the redemptive and saving power of Christ, understood the love of God, and felt the love of God shine upon him. It was truly a case of love at first sight for Paul. From that point Paul wanted to love back, and gave up his life to follow the will of the Lord.
Chris,
I like, “Jesus assembled all the pieces.” He has certainly done that in my life! 🙂
How did wanting to please God first change Paul’s life when he met Jesus?
I think he was always wanting to please God. Before he met Jesus, he had a false understanding of what that meant.
Now, if he cared what people thought, and let all those influential Jewish leaders outweigh God, then we wouldn’t have such a radical conversion story. If he cared that the leaders would hate him as much as he had hated the first followers of the Way, he wouldn’t have transformed. If he cared that the followers of the Way wouldn’t trust him for a while, always expecting him to try to beat or arrest them, he wouldn’t have continued. But he cared that God told him he was doing it wrong more than anything else. He persevered through and became the man who would be imprisoned and stoned for his faith. He became a trusted leader in the faith he had once tried to destroy.
Well said, Angela!
Paul’s actions speak loudly about his character and what he cared about.
12-22-2023, How did wanting to please God first change Paul’s life when he met Jesus?
Paul became the greatest missionary, the loudest voice for Jesus the world has ever known. He eagerly sought God’s transforming power converting him into a bond slave to the One who had died for him and He was always ready for the opportunities to share the Gospel, ready to preach the Gospel wherever it took him as he lived for Jesus over anything this world could ever offer
He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because he knew the purpose of the Gospel is to bring people to Him for salvation. He knew Jesus is the power that can make drunks sober, crooked men straight, and corrupt men pure as they believe and receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
Paul knew, Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
Romans 1:14-16, Acts 16:31
God spoke through Paul as he pinned 13 possible 14 books of the 27 books in the New Testament 51%, or 21% of the 66 books in the entire bible.
Thanks Ron!
From “adversary” to “missionary” is quite a transformation!