You Cannot Please Them All
Good Morning,
Seek to please God not men (for they are most impossible to please, especially when you are seeking to please God).
Matthew 11:18 “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.”
vs. 19 “The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners."
No matter which political candidate, godly Bible church, or converted family that sold out to the Lord, the world will not like you. The world will criticize you for one thing or another; they slandered John for being different, isolated, removed, and aloof. The same folks criticized Jesus for being friends with "sinners."
You cannot please this evil world!
It is far better to please the Lord. Micah 6:8 tells us what God requires of us: “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly" with God. Isaiah writes of the man pleasing to God: "but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." (Isaiah 66:2) We can please the Lord.
God is far easier to please than the deceitful world around us. God is honest, true, faithful, and never changes; He is everything opposite to the world around us.
The problem with too many Christians and churches today is that they are trying to fit in with the world, seeking to be accepted by the world, and desiring to create an atmosphere in their church in which worldly influences will like them. Folks, the world hated our Lord – they killed Him; they hated His followers and His church. One cannot please God and the world. If you live in such a way that the world approves of you or your church, you can be sure the Lord does not!
I remember when I made the decision to get saved. I knew I was walking away from my friends and my old lifestyle, and it did not bother me one tiny bit; they had nothing worth living for, and their world was empty and unsatisfying. It still amazes me when I see churches or individual believers trying to shape their faith into something the world likes – the world hates the things of God!!
You cannot love God and the world. You cannot be friends with the world (James 4:4). You cannot fashion yourselves after your old life and please the Saviour at the same time (1 Peter 1:14). If you try to please both, you will fail at both. Why not please God, love Him, and live a separated life honoring to the faith delivered to the saints (Jude 3).
Pastor