People Pleasers

“Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ!” Galatians 1:10 NET

Paul's statement, seemingly a non-sequitur in light of his previous comments and his stand to put the flesh to death, is in fact a crucial point of contrast. It underscores the choices made by the people in the Galatian Church, who have turned against Paul's teachings. Instead of boldly and succinctly speaking the words of Christ, they have chosen to become people pleasers, attempting to appease various members or factions of the Church.

I will not spend time defending Paul’s position in this blog, for that is well known; I will delve into the Galatian Church and explore how they fell from Paul’s good graces. It is important to remember that our Christian performance should not be the sole measure of how we live. It’s a common human tendency to expect others to conform to our ways, that is the way of the flesh and not the essence of the gospel. Jesus sacrificed himself for us while we were still sinners, not with the expectation that we could transform ourselves into something better, but with the hope that we would understand the need to let go of our sinful nature and place our trust in the transformative (dunamis) power of the Holy Spirit to mold us into a more perfect reflection of Jesus.

For centuries, the Church has established a system of rules, laws, and ordinances that, at their best, can be at odds with the move of the Spirit. However, our life is meant to be led by the Spirit of God, not by doctrines or set rules. We have been set free from the law of sin and death, and we are now free in Christ to explore our world with all its mysteries, complexities, and beauty. This pursuit is a pathway to freedom and a deeper relationship with Jesus, to truly know Him, and for Him to fully know us. This aspect is often overlooked in our conversations with fellow believers: unless have we truly surrendered our minds to Him, allowing Him to speak to us and guide us.

Within the teachings of God, we encounter two distinct ministries: the Ministry of Reconciliation and the Ministry of Judgment. Let’s delve into the Ministry of Judgment first. Jesus, in his encounters with the scribes and Pharisees, didn't shy away from delivering harsh criticism about their self-righteous behavior and lack of mercy. “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel! “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too! “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean.”                    Matthew 23:23-27 NET

Now let’s explore the ministry of reconciliation. Paul details what this looks like, so it is easily identifiable. “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”.                    2 Corinthians 5:14-21 NET

This contrast was a constant struggle for Paul concerning the Galatian Church. They were rebellious and kept reverting to their own self-righteousness and relying on their own efforts for their gatherings. In Chapter 4, Paul strongly and passionately emphasized the importance of listening to the Spirit of Jesus rather than relying on their own understanding when it came to the growth and development of the Church and their personal lives. I shouldn't condemn the Galatian Church; we all grapple with our human nature to some extent, and we all need the support of fellow believers who can hold us accountable and steer us back to Jesus, enabling us to listen to His Spirit and to recon our old nature to be dead to sin. For reference, everything that is not of faith is sin.

It's a good thing for us that Paul took the time to write this letter to the Galatians. It serves as a reminder that no matter who we are or who teaches us, we can easily fall victim to our own tendencies and veer off track concerning the way of faith. The key is to always be vulnerable and teachable so that stronger brothers or sisters in Christ may speak into our lives and bring correction. We don’t possess the complete revelation of Christ alone; that only comes when we share and receive our different portions of Christ with one another, which makes Christ and His kingdom visible in us and through our company of fellow slaves of Christ.

Stephen Barnett