Well Pleased

“How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” John 5:44

People pleasing has got to be one of the most difficult things. Ever.

Because really, it doesn’t have anything to do with the people we’re trying to please, does it?

It has everything to do with ourselves.

It has everything to do with our idols.

It has everything to do with the foundation upon which we stand.

The validation we seek from others’ temporal and sporadic praise over God’s enduring and constant affirmation reveals so much about our hearts and where they are at. We, in fact, are far too easily pleased.

We want what we do, what we say, how we act, who we are, to either be praised or accepted by others. These are two things we most desire. We want people, at best, to be pleased with us, to be impressed with us, to be in awe of us; at worst, to be accepting and at least generally permissive of our ways. And so we go, so often, to people to provide us with these things. They become the well we dip into for life but in fact become the poison that will harm us.

In order to follow Jesus faithfully, we must continually fight this battle. Jesus’ mission did not in any way revolve around pleasing people: he aimed to love people. He aimed to please his Father. See, to love and to please are two entirely disparate entities with entirely different motives and outcomes.

Pleasing is comfortable.

Pleasing satisfies us, falsely restores to us a sense of identity, a sense of belonging. (Temporarily.)

Pleasing, most importantly, is in our control.

But love, often, is uncomfortable. Beautiful, yes; but uncomfortable.

Love satisfies us and gives us a true and lasting identity and sense of belonging. 1 Peter 1:24-25 assures us so beautifully of this. It says:

     “For,

            ‘All people are like grass,

                 and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

            the grass withers and the flowers fall,

                 but the word of the Lord endures forever.’”

Holding onto the praise of people is a little like trying to grasp water in your hand. If you’ve ever tried to grab water (as silly as that sounds) and keep it in your hand, you know it is absolutely worthless: water offers no stability. The praise of God showered upon us, however, is like holding on to something made of iron. It is steady; it will anchor you; it will not fail you.

Love is out of our control. 

We have absolutely no say in how someone will respond to the love we show. That’s because our job is simply to love and let God move. It is not our job to be understood by the world. When “we are cursed [and] we bless; when we are persecuted [and] we endure it; when we are slandered [and] we answer kindly,” the world will not understand. This is love.

Love risks. 

God’s most renown demonstration of love displays this in the most perfect, beautiful, sacred way I can think of. He sentenced Jesus to such a bitter death for a world in which people loved him and people hated him, in which people sought to follow him and people sought to kill him. God is of course all-powerful, but in a strange sort of sense, God gave up control. His actions were separate from people’s potential responses. He loved and let man decide how he would receive Jesus’ sacrifice. How amazingly beautiful and startlingly humble is that?

One of my friends currently took an incredible opportunity to go to Japan and teach English with a missionary program. Recently while there, she and her group met up with a Japanese man who led worship at a Japanese church (which are rarities, might I add). Now, my friend is a very gifted singer and songwriter as well; this talent was brought up by her teammates and in an effort of humility I’m sure, or perhaps embarrassment, my friend tried to diminish her abilities.

The man asked her, “Who’s doing the comparing?”

In your life, who is doing the comparing?

Who is making the decisions about your worth?

Is it the people around you, or your Father?

When we allow people’s comparisons to affect us, when we seek our validation in people, we are allowing someone besides God to delegate to us a sense of worth. This desire derives from a very valid human desire, however. We aim to please because we crave acceptance and validation, we hunger for that confirmation that “Yes, you are doing something right!” We long to hear those words.

“And a voice came from heaven:

            ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” (NIV)

            ‘You are my dearly loved son, and you bring me great joy.’” (NLT)

            ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” (ESV)

            “You are My beloved Son; I take delight in You!’” (HCSB)

            ‘You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!’” (ISV)

                                                                                                -Mark 1:11

Dearly beloved Son (or Daughter): rest today in the fact that in you, simply in your being, your Father delights; you bring him such great joy; and with you, he is well pleased.

---

Written by Taylor Fohr

(Bio and Picture coming soon)