“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
According to the secular community, there are only a couple reasons why one would want to become a Christian. One of these centers around the idea that being a Christian is some sort of “crutch” used to get through life. However, let us be frank. The Christian has to battle against his carnal desires, those of the flesh, and is often persecuted by man for his faith. Some crutch. If this argument was in any way shape or form true, that man finds religion based on what gives him comfort and suits him, Christianity would be at the bottom of the list of desirable “crutches.”
Christians know this to not be the case. In fact, in following Christ, one is presented with many challenges. That is not to say that one doesn’t have fulfillment when following the Lord, quite the contrary, rather that this fulfillment isn’t found in any worldly practices. Indeed, even those who say they are fulfilled in the world, are not really so, but rather merely pacified by it.
Paul tells us that there is no need for a flattering tongue among man, for our goal in Christ is not to make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy, but we are called to show people’s need for a savior. If we wanted to please man, we could absolutely deny this need, or in fact say that salvation is a religious illusion and that one must take care of theirselves and, “be their own savior.” This would please worldly man in that all indulgences would be permissible.
Yet, man is called to something greater. You are either a servant of Christ or you are a servant of the self and man. One negates the other. In man’s pride there is no need for a savior, for he is the be all and end all, but this isn’t the case. The transition from the world into Christianity, frequently isn’t an easy one. It shouldn’t be, for there is a drastic change that takes place. Truth isn’t always comfortable, but we shall focus on truth and not a version of it that makes people desire or want it due to what it may give them in a worldly context. Rather, in terms of worldly things, it denies, discourages, and redefines. This may not be pleasant in all cases and we should not focus on flattering people or causing disillusionment that it is. To please men in an effort to lead them to Christ is essentially utilizing those worldly means and appealing to their worldly desires, to pull them out of the world, which is not only contradictory, but something that the Lord discourages.
Brandon Devotional 