People Pleaser

“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.” Galatians 1:10

Paul was a church-persecutor turned evangelist. The community of believers had heard about Paul. Can you imagine how the early church  must have reacted following Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus? “Paul? You mean, Saul of Tarsus? That rascal who violently persecutes the church calls himself a Christian? Are you kidding me?” But Paul’s conversion couldn’t have been more sincere. Paul wasn’t a people-pleaser when he was a church-persecutor and he wasn’t a people-pleaser when he became a servant of Christ. 

Paul spoke the truth in love. In Galatians 1 he says, “Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.” 

Paul was confident in his message because he was confident in Christ. His relationship with and love for Christ was genuine and sincere. He loved people so much that he spoke the truth to them even at the risk of offending them. We should love God enough to love others the way Paul did.