Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Pleasing Everyone

Weekend Music links on iTunes: All Over the World by Matt Redman; Hosanna by Paul Baloche; You'll Come by Hillsong; Rescue by Desperation Band; None but Jesus by Brooke Fraser.

Read: 1 John 5:21, John 12:42-43

Think:  Have you ever visited Pompeii in Italy? Or any other ruins of ancient culture? I did a few years back and noticed Pompeii’s many temples, shrines, and pedestals dedicated to the worship of idols.  Each place of worship had an altar near it, where some animal would be killed and offered for the god’s appeasement and pleasure. In some ancient cultures, women would offer their virginity, and mothers would offer their children in sacrifice to please the gods.

 Just like back then, we offer sacrifices to others to make them happy with us. We think that we will finally achieve significance if others have an untarnished view of who we are. Sometimes we might even work really hard at making other people happy, even at the expense of hurting ourselves and the people closest to us.

Jesus was really good at not worshipping the god of people pleasing. As a recovering people pleaser, I learn a lot from the bible’s examples of how Jesus related to others. Here’s a few examples I’d like to share:

• Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations to become a popular ruler (Matthew  4:4-10)
• Jesus resisted being influenced by his mother and brothers when they wanted Him to do something He didn’t come to do. (Matthew 12:46-50)
• Jesus stood up for the woman with the perfume and the woman caught in adultery much to the religious leaders’ public displeasure. (Mark 14:6-8)
• Jesus endured his own brothers’ unbelief, and resisted doing what they said to gain public popularity. (John 7:1-9)

Jesus never gave in to gain the good opinion of other people. I want to be like that too. I want my core convictions of life, love, grace and goodness to never be compromised to make someone else happy. Making other people pleased with me is just not worth giving up the most important part of myself- my soul. I want to deal with myself, and with other people with the kind of truth and grace Jesus had.

Do: Think of one way you will seek God’s pleasure and good opinion today instead of seeking to please mankind.

Pray: Jesus, You were really good at resisting the temptation to gain the approval of man over the approval of God. Please teach me, day by day to resist this temptation too. Help me to be so overcome with the love of the Father, that I only seek His approval and pleasure. 

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

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