Please God, Not People

September 15, 2014

Please God, Not People

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 2:4

A few days ago I mentioned that Sarah Young in her devotion, Jesus Calling, encourages us to pause before responding to people or situations, thus giving the Holy Spirit an opportunity to lead us. This is perhaps the greatest spiritual discipline: the art of pausing and listening for the still small voice of God. It is this spiritual discipline that allows us the bridge the gap between the holiness of our heart and the holiness we seek in our life. Holiness of heart is the reality of the very presence of Christ within us. Holiness of life is the goal of those seeking to make the life in Christ their way of life. It is the living out in the world the truth that “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a NRSV).

Why is this spiritual discipline of pausing to listen so vitally important? Because we all put on different faces and use different words depending on where we are and with whom we are in the presence. We all suffer a bit with split personalities. Part of our personality may be extremely passionate about our favorite sports team, or our political preferences, or a dozen other interests we hold dear. Part of our personality is passionate about our family and also passionate about our faith and our place of worship and service. Because the Apostle Paul knew that God alone examines the motives of our hearts, he sought to live his life by the sole purpose to please God, not people.

Can we authentically emulate Paul’s example in our lives today? I think so. I believe Jesus loves it that I get great joy through supporting my Team. Jesus likes it that I am passionate about world affairs and National politics. Jesus is pleased that I am head over heels in love with my wife. His desire for me is that his life would be made visible in my words and actions on all these fronts. Can I cheer on my team and honor God with my words? Can I express my passion about the world and honor God with my words? Can my wife see Christ in my words and actions toward her?

Knowing that God knows my heart, and with my purpose to please God, not people, I answer those questions with the words of Saint Paul: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me” (Philippians 3:12).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.