Who Do You Want to Please?

Most of us are brought up learning how to please certain people in our lives. First, our parents. We learn what it takes to make them happy, and if we want our lives to go smoothly, we do or don’t do certain things. The behaviors that need refining are pointed out to us quickly by instructions, cautions or punishments.

        Then we learn to apply that method of getting along to our teachers, friends, relatives, bosses, pastors, policemen, spouse, teammates, and others with whom we interact in life. As life progresses, most people become fairly expert in getting along and pleasing others, trying not to offend. We look for that middle place that allows us to forge our way through life, getting along without ruffling too many feathers. We are considered successful if people think of us as nice, as pleasing, and easy to get along with.

        But what about God? Are we trying to please God? Does he even make the list of those we wish to please every day? If a survey was taken that asked the question: “Who is the most important person in your life that you try to please” how many of us would immediately say, Jesus or God? The Lord has a special place in our lives, we say. He is our Savior, we may say. But really…is He our primary focus each day? Are we trying to please God?

        Romans 8:7-8

For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

        Romans 14:17-18

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.

        Philippians 2:12-13

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

        Colossians 1:10

We have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

          1 Thessalonians 2:4

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

        1 Thessalonians 4:1

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.

        1 Timothy 2:3

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

        1 Timothy 5:3-4

Take care of a widow who has no one else to care for her. But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God.

        Hebrews 11:6

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

        1 Peter 2:19, 21

For God is pleased with you when you do what you know is right and patiently endure unfair treatment. For God called you to do good, even it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

        Pleasing God opens the door for pleasing anyone else. It is the foundation upon which all relationships are built. How to please God is outlined for us in the Bible and made possible by God’s Holy Spirit within us (Read John, chapter 14).