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Who Are You Trying To Please?
Who Are You Trying to Please?
Pleasing people is a natural desire for humans. We are social creatures and desire a certain level of social harmony. When we sense someone is not happy with something, it is a natural response to try to “fix it.”
The issue comes when we try to fix things that 1) aren’t our responsibility or 2) can’t be helped. The problem may lie with the other person or it might be a concern there is no solution for. In any of these instances, we need to be careful we don’t “bend over backward” in an exercise of futility. When we start bending over backward to fix issues that are not our fault or cannot be helped, we risk compromising our own values or going against who we really are.
Jesus knew people had issues with Him. He was not blind in knowing others were not happy with him. He wasn’t fulfilling their expectations or He was disrupting their religious establishment. It could not be helped—He had a mission to fulfill and it didn’t involve making sure everyone was happy with Him. Some of it wasn’t His fault—others’ incorrect expectations of Him were the result of their own misunderstandings or selfish desires.
And so, Jesus gives us the example of knowing who we are and not compromising ourselves in order to satisfy someone else. In our own experiences, we often struggle with the desire to be liked and fit in with the need to be true to convictions and purpose. Who are you trying to please? Is it God?
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
—John 6:38—
-Scott McFarland
