The Sin of Pleasing People

"Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant." (Galatians 1:10)

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a recovering "people-pleaser".  Somewhere early in my life, I adopted a great desire to be loved by people.  Now, I know that we all desire to be loved and accepted, but in my world it was necessary for EVERYONE to love me.  For much of my life, I have done whatever it takes to get as many people as possible to love me.  That, of course, meant that I had to compromise my life and my calling to conform to the expectations of others.  The prescription that I have followed over the past dozen years or so is to practice telling myself the biblical truth about who I am and how much God loves me.  The Bible is flooded with promises and reminders about the great love of God.  The more I have come to believe in the love of God, the less I have needed to try to earn the love of people.

So, to my fellow people-pleasers out there this morning, let me encourage you to rest in God's love and acceptance.  As you read the Bible, focus on the many ways that  God expresses His love.  And should you feel the sting of personal criticism or rejection today, rest in the fact that you are the delight of your Father in heaven.

Red Hot Burning Coal

"Then I said, 'My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race.'" (Isaiah 6:5)

"Then one of the seraphim flew over to the altar, and he picked up a burning coal with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, 'See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.'" (Isaiah 6:6-7)
The cure for Isaiah's deserved destruction was a burning coal from the the altar of God.  God is like that! He fixes our failures.  He solves our sin-issue. He delivers us from destruction.  He forgives us with a burning coal.

"I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with the golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters" (Revelation 1:13-15)

John saw Jesus in a glorious vision on the Island of Patmos.  Note Jesus' flaming eyes and burning feet.  God loves us enough, that like He did for Isaiah, He sent a burning coal to deliver us from certain destruction.

Thank you Jesus!

"Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, 'You are the Son of God!'" (Mark 3:11)

Jesus' authority was such that even the demons would acknowledge Him.  That had to be quite a sight--Jesus walking down the street and demon-possessed people falling down before Him.  That got me thinking this morning.  If the demons submitted to Jesus' power 2000 years ago, then of course they still do.  That means that the closer I am to Jesus--the less trouble the demons can cause.

I have been teaching for many years that the way to overcome addictive sin in our lives is by worshiping God.  When we focus on our sin and shortcomings and with hands clenched determine never to sin again--well, we tend to keep on sinning. The secret, it seems to me, is to focus on God--His power, His character, His holiness.  When we live in the presence of God through worship and prayer, the demons flee.

Let's walk close to Jesus today through prayer and worship and watch those demons fall down before Him.

The Sin of Knowledge...

I was given a book sometime back entitled, "Our Oneness with Christ - A Study in Living by Grace Through Faith" written by David Kuykendall.  Allow me to share some direct quotes concerning our sin addiction.

"The New Testament uses three terms to describe our sin problem:  'sin,' 'old man' and 'flesh.'  The Old Testament, in the second and third chapters of Genesis, uses yet a fourth term, 'the knowledge of good and evil.'" (p29)

"These verses (Genesis 3) show conclusively that it was 'the knowledge of good and evil' with which Adam infected himself--and us. Notice especially the reason Adam and Eve were sent from the garden.  They were now as God, 'to know good and evil' (Genesis 3:22)." (p30)

"Just as surely as we have two eyes and ten fingers because we are in the race of Adam, we have an attitude of omniscience for the same reason.  Take heed!  Our know-it-all attitude is not content to function quietly and only for the individual in whom it abides.  It roams far and wide.  It knows no limitations.  It moves in all directions, whether horizontal or vertical.  It passes judgment on and makes decisions for anybody and everybody--even the Lord God.  For example, more than one serious problem of fellowship has developed in one of the Lord's churches because one or more members insisted that their point of view was the correct one.  Most everyone who has been involved in the Lord's work for only a few years has experienced the grief and strife among the people of the Lord that the know-it-all attitude has created." (p32)

"What, then, is our flesh? Our flesh is our know-it-all attitude, which is the deepest form of self-confidence.  When we live 'in the flesh,' we trust ourselves." (p33)

Liar! Liar!

Recent studies show that human beings begin deceptive practices at a very young age. The Psychology Department at the University of Portsmouth report that children begin lying as early as six months. According to the researchers, "Fake crying is one of the earliest forms of deception to emerge, and infants use it to get attention even though nothing is wrong. You can tell, as they will then pause while they wait to hear if their mother is responding, before crying again."

It appears that the Bible has gotten it right once again. David declares to God in Psalm 51:5, "For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me."

Read the entire article in the Telegraph here.