It was January 2nd and I had decided I didn't care about New Years Resolutions. It wasn't that I was already giving up on the ones I made, I just didn't really care about setting any. But as I was doing my devotions and I came across this passage, Luke 6:6-10:
"On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus."
The Lord started stirring in my heart something I had been thinking about for awhile: my tendency to be a people-pleaser. My motivation, decision making, my work ethic as well as other things are often dictated by my desire to please others, or gain their approval. As I read this passage, the part that stood out to me was that Jesus had the man stand up in front of everyone. If it was me, I would've healed his hand discretely, not to cause a scene or upset the Pharisees. I would've whispered to him "meet me in the back in 20 minutes" or something sneaky like that, but instead Jesus takes him upfront and uses the healing to confront the Pharisees and me.
As I was thinking about it, I realized how sinful this mentality of people pleasing is. My motivation needs to be to please God and to bring His name glory at all times. I started exploring more of this theme in scripture and I came across Galatians 1:10 "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." "Whoa, hold on, I'm not that bad" my flesh tried to argue, but I knew this is what I had to grow in this year. So please pray for me, pray that I will be a God-pleaser rather than a people-pleaser. That the Holy Spirit will continue to convict me when my thought process and decision making is not focused on bringing God glory! I know it will be an ongoing journey, but I thank God for convicting me and for all of your prayers!
-Mark
