The Vineyard
Dear Friends,
In Galatians 1:10, Paul said: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” How true! The two (pleasing people and serving Jesus) are incongruous. Not because serving Jesus is not good for people, but because serving Jesus will eventually and inevitably make you unpopular with people.
For those that disagree, I would suggest this:Try to please people and simultaneously be a genuine servant of Christ. Somethings can only be experienced in life—-we can’t just “accept it as true”, or believe it by reading or hearing about it—we have to jump in and try it out for ourselves. I have tried to walk that fine line before of pleasing others and serving God, and ultimately I had to ask myself: Do I want to make Him proud or someone else—because I can’t do both. Nothing is gained, of course, by deliberately annoying others, but following Jesus is annoying to the masses, and anyone that is not an irritant to someone is not walking very close to God.
To be pleasing to others requires compromise, saying things that are pleasing to the hearer, not challenging the other point of view (unless your acquaintance enjoys being challenged) and above all, never suggesting that they are absolute “right and wrong” things in the world. Following Jesus means that at times, in love, we say things that are “hard” and might even appear unkind. If we serve the King of Kings, it means that we are compelled to speak the truth, even if we know that our associates might take offense at it.
A servant of Jesus is never rude, but never afraid to offer the truth; a servant is never unkind, but never shirks from standing up for His Lord or His lamb; God’s servants never judge another man’s heart, but are fearless in support of God’s commandments and expectations for mankind; their first concern is the approval of God—-not men. No wonder, then, a servant of God is not very popular.
Pity the man that tries to live in two worlds or serve two masters…….
Dean Barley
The Vineyard
Dean@VineyardCamp.com
336 351 2070
919 360 8493 (Mobile)
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