People Pleasers Anonymous

People Pleasers Anonymous - it's time to revoke your membership! “I just want to be liked.”  “I just want to be accepted.”  “I just want to fit in.”  “I want to belong.”  Do you feel that way?  We get up in the morning and get dressed – taking into consideration how others will view us.  We let what others think we should do become priorities on our “To Do” list.  We worry that people will think we are not good enough.  We say, “Yes” to things we do not want to do.  We smile when we feel hurt.  We let others have control over us.

What is this about?  How did we get here?  Do we really desire to please others?  Or are we just desperately trying to feel better about our self?  Do we truly believe that people’s opinions matter that much?  Or is it that we are insecure and full of fear?  Oops - we don’t like to admit that.  The “insecure” word is hard to swallow, but it is true of most of us.  We have given other people – other flawed humans – the authority to make us feel loved or rejected.  Logically – that is silly.  What do they know?

What do we know?  Well, in the Bible, Paul is talking about his call to Apostleship and he says,

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” Galatians 1:10 NLT.

Ouch!  We know we are not here to please people.  We are here to serve God.  And the great news is He has already accepted us.  He has already given us His stamp of approval.  He just waits for us to turn to Him – always with open arms.  And…we don’t even have to have on the right outfit or laugh the right way or say the right thing or have the best kids or be the most successful or have a good marriage or have lots of friends.  He loves us unconditionally.

So…let’s do this!  Let’s revoke our membership to the People Pleaser Club and get busy pleasing God.  We are called to love others with His love, to be kind and considerate, and to serve.  But, let’s do that with a heart focused on pleasing God – knowing that we may disappoint others or feel judged from time to time.  But that’s okay.  Don’t give it more power than it deserves. All power goes to our Creator!  His opinion is the only one that Matters.

Let’s live out Colossians 3:12-17

“Therefore as the elect of God,  holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called to one body; and be thankful.”

Let’s pray…”Lord, help me to please YOU today - in my thoughts, in my speech and in my actions.”