People-Pleasing

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Galations 1:10

It's easy to get caught up trying to make people like you or even approve of you.  The world has us constantly seeking attention, affection and approval.  

Human beings are strange characters.  They don't like you for one thing, but if you change it and do want they want, they probably still won't like you anyway. 

Everyday in the media we see severe cases of people-pleasing.  Singers who want to be famous get on stage wearing next to nothing and the crowds go wild, soaking it in and buying out their records.  People seem to want to only listen to music made by "bad boys" or "bad girls" yet these same singers get seriously crucified in the media when their marriages only last a few days or they are caught with drugs.   Most of them can't cope with their people-pleasing so it affects their lives. 

People-pleasing is very dangerous for Christians and non-Christians alike. Even in our church lives we sometimes get caught up with putting on a show.  Sometimes we raise our hands just because it is the thing to do,  not because we want to surrender totally to God. We join certain committees just because everybody else thinks that you'll be good at it even though you don't like doing that particular thing. We even find ourselves marrying a particular person because everybody thinks that "you two look great together!". 

 Unfortunately for us,  people-pleasing has the undesired effect of not pleasing God.  If we spend the rest of our lives looking for approval from man, we will probably never accomplish what God has in store for us.  If we're busy worrying about what men will think of us,  then we'll be too distracted to hear what God wants from us. 

Trying to please people is like trying to fill a bucket with holes,  it will never happen. Man's perception of what is good changes daily. Somewhere on the planet on any given day and at any given point in time, there will be someone who does not like what you're doing or who simply doesn't like YOU. 

Pleasing God is so much easier and has many more benefits. First of all, God will always love you, no matter what, even when you make a mistake. Secondly, His plans for you have already been set. They won't change, because He never changes, therefore you won't be chasing a moving target. Thirdly, God will help you get to where He wants you to go. God guides us through every step in our process and is there to ensure that we don't hurt ourselves when we fall. 

So let us go through today remembering that our job is not to please every one around us or even to gain the approval of man. Let us remember that our focus should be on God's plans for our lives and what He wants us to do with it. Remember also, that what God wants from us is true worship i.e. a lifestyle that follows his commands. We can't be true worshippers if our lifestyles are following the commands of the person sitting next to us in church. 

Have a blessed day!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in the Soul Food Series in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab a copy, click one of the images below. 

Open window Christianity

Daniel 6:10 NLT

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.

The first sentence of this scripture shocks me a little. Daniel heard about the new law but went home to pray with his window open. Isn't that something? I know what I would do after hearing about a law like that. I'd go home to pray but I would definitely keep my windows closed.

Daniel shows the kind of bravery that a lot of us (including me) don't have, Not only was he not ashamed of his Christianity, he was ready to accept the consequences of this choice. Most of us have the freedom to worship whomever or whatever we want in our countries, yet not many of us are willing to stand up boldly and declare that we are Christians. We attend church regular and pray regular within closed doors but when we are required to speak out again immorality we shy away. Heated discussions about major social issues that are changing our landscapes happen around us all the time and we are afraid to take the Christian stance for fear of ostracism. 

Daniel didn't care about being ostracised. As a matter of fact, his punishment was not ostracism, but rather death. At the time he made the decision to pray, there is no indication that God gave him the assurance that he's survive the plan the enemy had for him, but he did it anyway. 

My encouragement to you today is to live out your Christianity with the windows open. Live life outside of church the same way you do in church. Be bold about your faith, let the devil know that even when threatened, you are proud to be a Christian.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Feather-weight Christianity

Since Christ made an appearance here on earth Christianity has always demanded a bit of radical faith. First of all, it takes a radical determination to believe the things we do. To the ordinary man, what we believe looks somewhat ridiculous. It may even look ridiculous in our own eyes sometimes, but we have our experiences and assurances that keep us going, so we believe.

Believing is one thing, however, actions are something totally different. Back in the day of the apostles, proclaiming Christianity was punishable by death, yet that era gave us the most radical Christians we have ever seen. In the face of persecution, the apostles continued to preach, teach and lead their flocks of believers.

Nowadays, we have things so much easier. We can gather in public places and talk about our God. We can declare boldly that "I am a Christian" without fear of any harm coming to us. We basically have it pretty easy.

So why then are so many of us practicing feather-weight Christianity? Why are we just doing to bare minimum? We walk into church on Sunday morning, or Tuesday night or whatever other day we choose to go to church and after that we behave like we've paid our dues. We have the "no one can judge me except God" attitude and we basically live our lives however we want. Most days, no thought is taken concerning God's rules and our lifestyle does not match up with the Bible or with Christ. We have a million and one excuses for the reason that we can't do what the Bible says and we claim that those that do are fanatics or ignorant Bible thumpers.

Its been said before that the main reason the world resents Christianity is the Christians. We don't practice what we preach and that serves as a deterrent to those on the outside. Our pulpits are confused and we relax our principles in the name of tolerance or love. I bet God is saddened when he looks down on His Church; His bride that he's supposed to return for. The bride that should be getting ready for his return.

There are a lot of things wrong with collective Christianity but it takes each individual to look at him/herself and make the changes. The Church is you and it is me. It is not a building or a denomination. Therefore it is not a building or a denomination that needs to change but you and I. Our priorities need to be reset, goals revisited and lives re-examined because change starts with the individual. Let your neighbors see a difference in the way you live. Let your coworkers see a difference in the way you work. Don't use excuses to fornicate or to party like a wild animal. It's easy to put on makeup and head to church and call yourself a Christian, but it's a totally different story where living the life is concerned. Let's go back to the basics, honouring God and doing His will. That's all that's required from us.

Let's live today with a difference. The world is watching.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Worship God with your Life

Several months ago, I did a post called "what is worship?" And by far, it is the most popular post in this blog. Worship is an important thing. It is THE most important responsibility you and I have as Christians. It is the one job that we cannot fail it.


What struck me today is how worship propels our testimony. You see, real worship is actually a lifestyle. Not what we say in church on Sunday morning or the number of songs we sing. Singing is one way to express our worship, but our greatest act of worship is actually very silent. Our greatest act of worship is honouring God's commands. That is the most respect that you can give Him. Telling Him, "God I respect you" means absolutely nothing if you go out afterwards living life and totally ignoring what He has asked you to do.

John 4:23 is a widely referenced verse.  It says: "But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way."

As a young girl growing up in church, I always thought that meant that I should truly mean what I say when I worship in church on a Sunday morning. Well that's only the tip of the iceberg. Worshipping truthfully means that my lifestyle must reflect what I say to God. It means that someone on the outside looking in should not be wondering about me and what I say to God because they have been seeing a different lifestyle from me. Worshipping truthfully means that our lives should be testimony to what we are saying.

You've probably heard the saying that goes "actions speak louder than words", well, it's very true. The loudest thing we can say is really what we do. A lot of people have been turned off of Christianity because of us Christians. We speak truth, but we don't live it. We tell them about a lifestyle that they should live but we don't live it ourselves. Are we really worshipping truthfully then? Or are we telling God a bunch of lies?

Worship goes beyond Sunday morning. Worship is every thing we do. Does it please God? Does it honour God? Does it respect God? Does it reflect God? Ponder that for a moment. I know that I certainly need to.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo