PSA to all my people pleasers.

I do not say this to identify with the people-pleasing lifestyle, but rather I say this as a recovering chronic people pleaser who thought it was my identity in Christ to please man.

I grew up in church, with the word, and yet I somehow never took hold of the verse:  

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. Galatians 1:10.

Scripture makes it crystal clear that as believers, our aim has never been to please man, but only, ever, to please God. We get this wrong.

While the Bible does say a lot about how we treat people, the way we treat people and relate to them is still very different than trying to please them or earn their praises.

I grew up believing that caring that people like me and thought well of me was a way to ensure that I am being a good ambassador for Christ. It’s laughable to me now how wrong I was, as the Bible clearly says that if that is our aim that we aren’t even a servant of God.

That’s a pretty harsh reality, but I’d rather have that reality check now, than in eternity. I believe that because I grew up in a religious church, and from generations of religious people (as far as I know), that this false doctrine was able to be so firmly implanted in me without my questioning it in light of scripture. The deprogramming on this one has been a process.

I believe this is what the Bible refers to as a stronghold. I do not profess to be an expert on this topic, or explaining the finer details of it, but I do know the principles of it inside and out because I lived it.

Thank God that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Why do I tell you all of this? Because if you have been chained by this religious ideology too, I want you to know that you can be free of it, in fact the Bible commands that you be free in order to believe.

So what’s the point? The point is that it’s never been about getting people to like you. I believe the reason God has brought me to a place of wanting to confront this ideology head-on is that social media has created such a pervasive culture about living for- and changing to- get the likes and praise of others. Bam. I know, why do we do this?

I believe it’s part of our sin nature and a result of the fall of man. The devil asked Eve a question which in itself assumed that God was not FOR Eve. But we need to realize for ourselves, that God IS for us. And if God is for us, who can be against us? Meaning, it absolutely doesn’t matter what other people say or think of your message when you’re walking in your calling, because what ultimately matters is that God has a calling for your life, He WANTS you to walk in it, He CREATED you to walk in it, and He doesn’t want you to care what other people think about it.

He just wants you to go out, and do your part to change the world. Just like the disciples. The people in John and Peters’ days sure didn’t always agree with the message, but that wasn’t the point. The point is to draw all men to Christ. The point is to offend in order to break down walls. What happened to Jesus? They loved him, and praised Him and waved palm branches, and ultimately crucified Him. Your message is not a soft one to win hearts, it is a knife to cut back the old growth, and the religion, and to point people to Truth. The Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I’m sure I have more to say on the subject, but I want to be obedient and post this right away and not fuss over it. It’s time to say goodbye to the fear of man and start walking in the fear of God.

I know I started this blog to talk about art journaling, I still art journal, but I want to talk about this too.

Bless y’all.