Remember to Please God, Not Man

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John 15:18-19, James 4:4 and 1 John 2:15 warn about trying to please the world.  The Lord Jesus Christ already warned that either you are of the world or you are of God - there is no sensible compromise.  I remembered the stupidity of being told as a child that if I just keep doing what is right, I will not get into trouble.  But the more I read the Bible, the more I am horrified to see the ministers of God getting punished for doing right.  They were not just victims of close-minded people but they were also victims of doing right because the world as of right now still belongs to Satan's world system.  In short, the Christian lesson has always been, "Do right even if you get into trouble."

The focus of doing right in the the Christian life is Soli Deo Gloria which means "Glory to God Alone".  The motive behind the work if it seeks that God be glorified and only He alone, that is a real good work otherwise it is not a good work.  Men of God do what is right even if it means that everyone is displeased.  In truth, if God is pleased, so what if somebody hates the Christian for doing what is right?  But the problem is that people love the praises of men that they forget the praises of God.  People usually think of not offending anyone, pleasing everyone but God.  Most people are just angry with God wishing that He was not real or He would not exist.

The best example of not pleasing man but God is Jesus Christ.  He did the mission of His Heavenly Father who sent Him to be God the Son with us in full compliance.  He knew very well how much opposition there will be.  Satan tried to get Him to sin.  The Pharisees wanted Him dead for challenging their self-righteousness.  When Jesus did what was right, He only wanted the Father to be pleased.  Before Him, the prophets did not care about acceptance as long as God's will be done.  The apostles continued the example of Jesus by sticking with God be pleased and no other.  That is the whole mission of the Christian life.

One thing is certain, the more the Christian walks in Christ, the more the world goes against the Christian, the more they will be rejected.  If you are going to stand up for Christ, expect the whole world to turn against you.  There is no way to please both God and man.  The cross is the symbol of the Gospel which declares one's salvation and the message of salvation.  The world considers the message of the cross foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18).  It is all about pleasing God and the best time for the Christian to worry is when they are not suffering for doing right for the Lord Jesus Christ and not about what others think.


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