Men Pleasers
Good Morning,
Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
We all know what peer pressure is, and we all would agree that we ought not allow the pressure of peers to control us. Any parent worth their salt has told their children something similar to this, “Do not do that just because your friends are doing it.”
Yet look at Christian adults –the men cut their hair like the other guys do, and they adjust their dress according to their (adult) peers. Christian adults who tell their children, “Do not follow everyone else,” are focused upon what others are doing in their own social lives. Preachers are doing their best to do what other churches are doing so they fit in with the religious climate of their day.
Daniel is such a great example! He went against the grain of everyone that touched his faith. He would not eat what others ate. Daniel would not stop praying when politicians told him to stop. Daniel had no problem going against the socially-accepted norms in any area. Daniel took his stand with God and let the chips fall wherever they would. Daniel risked his career because he stood, as did his friends.
American Christians are like the Pharisees who whitewashed the sepulchers of the prophets.
Matthew 23:29 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,”
vs. 30 “And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.”
vs. 31 “Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.”
Consider where your children attend school. You will find that most people place their children in schools that their friends approve. Ladies, check out your hemline; you will find that it matches your friends, and changes with the styles of the day (peer pressure). When I was in college, everyone had junker cars – so it was not a problem. But now, I spend time with people who almost exclusively drive nice cars. (There you go, guessing what I drive.) If the Bible said NOT to drive a nice car, I would walk, ride a bike, or drive a rattle trap car. Someone has to ask God what He thinks.
What makes churches like ours unpopular is that we make people unpopular. The closer you get to the Lord, the less you will fit in with the world. No one at work is likely to compliment your mid-calf length skirt or the fact that you do not go to casinos.
I have noticed that most people attend a church that has good programs or good music, features that are socially acceptable and welcomed via peer pressure. I cannot remember the last time I heard someone say they attended a church because of doctrine or preaching. LOOK IN THE MIRROR! THINK! Why are you doing what you are doing? Are adults manipulated by peers?
The entire reason for church is to get us close to God so that we might have a part in fulfilling the Great Commission. “Go. Win. Baptize. Teach.” You are not on earth to please your friends, co-workers, or family members.
Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
For THY pleasure we are created! Who cares about peers?
Pastor