If you had to choose between pleasing men and pleasing God, which would it be? Of course, the right answer is that we should choose to please God. Still, it is natural for us to desire the praise of men. But in serving the Lord, we should never choose the latter over the former.
The Bible says something interesting about some of the leaders in Jesus’ day. “They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43, KJV). These men had come to believe in Jesus. But they were afraid to let anyone know. Why? Because they feared that the Pharisees would put them out of the synagogue.
Oftentimes, perhaps most of the time, we can’t please both people and God. His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Oh, that’s an understatement. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways…,” God says (verse 9, NASB).
So, we can’t simply be noncommittal and hope for the best.
Temptations to Receive the Praise of Men
We live in a world that increasingly rejects God. Unthinkable sins in the past are now regarded as normal behavior. Many unbelievers today brand those who follow Christ as being out of touch with the world or intolerant of the views of others. But believers must be willing to bear this criticism. Still, the examples below underscore our innate desire to fit in or to please people:
Young adults. Some teens and college students who identify with Christ definitely struggle in this area. They want to please the Lord, but also they want to have friends and to fit in socially. To do so, they feel tempted to suppress their convictions about the Lord. Or they feel they need to go along with the crowd to fit in. They fear that if they take an unwavering stand for Christ, they won’t be considered cool by their peers.
Uncommitted churchgoers. I have seen my share of actors in the local church. That would be those who regularly attend church, are not ready to accept Christ, but put on a good act of being a Christian while in the house of God. The goal is to look like and act like a bona fide believer among God’s people. The person who pretends this way is more interested in the praise of men than he is in pleasing God.
Fearful preachers. Some preachers and pastors fear preaching the truth to their congregation. They know things that need to be addressed through the Word of God to the people. But they fear the people will be angry if they go there. So, they opt for the praise of men over than the praise of God. As servants of the most High God, we should never choose the former over the latter.
It is a sad thing when we are more interested in others speaking well of us than we are in pleasing God or being in right standing with Him.
“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:28, NASB
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.