You can never please men!

Bible Text: Matthew 11:16-19  “Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the market place. One group shouts to the other, ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn’t cry!’ When John came, he fasted and drank no wine, and everyone said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and everyone said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ God’s wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results.”

Memory Verse: Ephesians 5:10 “Try to learn what pleases the Lord.”

What’s the rationale behind trying to please people? Has the reality of change not sank in for many? These questions and a few others keep lingering on my mind as I read today’s bible text. Many do not understand that people do change over time and they keep working hard to keep up with the trends in people’s lives so as to keep pleasing them. The final question is, are we really ready to live that type of life?

Originally we were created to fellowship with God  and this is why the father visited Adam & Eve regularly Genesis 3:8. Yes, fellowshipping is the only thing God has ever wanted from us, His requirement will never change but from a human perspective, we failed to keep our end of the bargain, ate the forbidden fruit and altered this default setting, Genesis 3:6. This resulted in a curse getting placed on Adam & Eve, curses which has been transferred from one generation to another till today. We could vividly say mankind in the garden of Eden were more concerned about others and prioritized pleasing others over pleasing God, in obedience to his instructions.  

My good guess here is that Adam ate the fruit to please Eve and that was the cause of His downfall. Anyone that lives their live pleasing others will live a life filled with disappointment Psalm 146:3. Man operates like a software, born in their original version but as things change over time and in their environment, the need for an update or change arises which results in their functionality and capability changes. In most cases, this means what you have been doing to please them today may suddenly not interest them tomorrow because somewhere along the line their software had been updated. To continue pleasing man, you will have to keep updating until you get exhausted and run out of resources.

Living to please man is fastest route to failure! 

In today’s bible text, We see Jesus speaking to John’s disciples about the people of this day and how unstable they are with their expectations Matthew 11:16-19, this is why being yoked with believers saves you a whole lot of hassle.

So maybe you are not a man pleaser but a self-pleaser, being selfish and self-centered means you take the focus away from God and seek for your own interest alone. This is equally as bad as man pleasing, it’s another way to doom.

God has standards and He never changes. He is in a league of His own and created man to fellowship and praise Him. Without doubt, He is not one to force you, but certainly if you refuse to, all he does is raise up stones to do it. He does not need updating and never will, He has been and will be the same forever. To reinstate us to His original plan, He gave us Jesus according to John 3:16, and as Christians we are to focus on what Jesus focused on which is pleasing God the Father. “And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” John 8:29

Constantly seek within to find out who you are trying to please! Is it yourself, others or God?  The heart of Christianity is love for God and this means living a life that pleases God and not man.

PRAYERS:

• Father I thank You for your endless blessings and great plans you have for me
• I surrender all to you O Lord, guide me and help me to trust and focus on you totally throughout this year 2020
• Help me not to be a man pleaser but to focus all my energy and attention on pleasing you Lord, empower me to build my treasures in Heaven
• Forgive my iniquities Lord and let your mercy prevail over judgement
• Thank you Father and in Jesus Name I Pray, Amen.

I’m reading the YouVersion plan ‘Bible in One Year 2020 With Nicky Gumbel’. Check it out by clicking on the caption below.