Just a Thought: There is a big difference between being a people pleaser and having integrity. Some people are worried all the time about what people think about them. Will they like me? will they be happy with me? Will I disappoint anyone? Will they approve of me? Being a people pleaser will drive you nuts! And the truth is you can’t please everyone all the time. But the better truth is, we are not to live our lives to please people. We are to live our lives to be pleasing to the Lord. We are to walk in accordance to His will and His word. And when we do that, I promise you, you won’t please some people. However, while we don’t live our lives to please men, we should be concerned to a degree about what others think. But I am talking about a reputation not seeking others approval. The Apostle Paul was constantly under criticism from his enemies and false teachers. There were a lot of people who were not necessarily pleased with Paul often. Paul didn’t worry about whether people were happy with him. But he did want to be sure his reputation was that he was a man of integrity. This is why he wrote to the Corinthians, “We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.” (2 Cor 8:20-21) Notice, Paul did not say he wanted to avoid any criticism. He said he wanted to avoid any criticism in the way he was handling the offering (gift) that he was in charge of delivering. There is a big difference between being a people pleaser and having integrity. And there is nothing wrong with focusing your attention of serving the Lord in a way that people can criticize you for a lot of things. But they have to admit you are a person of integrity. Listen, lots of people will be unhappy with you at various times in your life for a whole host of reasons. Sometimes those reasons will be legitimate and sometimes they won’t. But don’t let pleasing people be the consuming effort of your life and mind. Let your focus be on pleasing the Lord. And live a life of integrity so that when you live for the Lord, the your witness will be unhindered whether others are happy about it or not.
