Are We Trying To Please People Or Are We Trying To Please God?
Good Morning Friends,
Friends, God’s work…kingdom work is hard work and sometimes dangerous. That is why it must be something a person desires to do and is gifted by God to do. The strategy for mission is to be Christ like, choice by choice by choice. And God gives us free will. So, God allows us to make our own choices, but with every choice we make there is a consequence, some good and some bad. While God will not make our choices for us I do believe He wants and desires for us to make the right choices in life. If you are a Christian who has made a conscious choice to have a personal relationship with God, Jesus helps guide our choices through the Holy Spirit. With that thought in mind today we look at scripture about the work of Paul and John the Baptist only to recognize that because of their choices and the choices of others they both lost their heads. Interestingly they did not lose their temper or focus or purpose. Some might think that they were failures but that is far from the truth. In fact, they succeeded beyond what might have been expected in the tasks they had been given. Perhaps the best test of success is how one answers today’s question. Are We Trying To Please People Or Are We Trying To Please God?
Scripture: You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 (NRSV)
For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
Mark 6:17-29 (NRSV)
Message: The Bible reads like a who’s who of failures. The difference is how people respond to those situations. The righteous get up from them and continue on with the mission in theirs hearts. They have resilience. You see, we have all failed. But failure is often fertilizer for success in ways do not expect. Sure, John the Baptist and Paul got their heads chopped off but that was a much more human way to go than rotting in a dungeon or getting crucified on a cross. The message here is that when we spread the good news of the Gospel, we can expect to face opposition. The apostle Paul and John the Baptist were no exception. They boldly preached the Gospel despite suffering and mistreatment. So, pay attention to the example set for us. Their ministry was direct and to the point. They did not use words that would please people. He did not resort to manipulation. He did not try to motivate with sweet talk. They did not try to use ministry for financial gain. They were honest, with no ulterior motives or hidden meanings. They had no need to manipulate people. No matter how much opposition they encountered, they never took their eyes off the calling to bring people to Jesus. Still, most people would consider what happened to Paul and John failure, and in a way, it was. Paul had been beaten and thrown in jail multiple times. When he preached, mobs tried to stone him. By the world’s standard, Paul and John the Baptist faced a lot of disasters. They were unpopular in most social circles. John was always playing second to Jesus. There was usually a mob after Paul. And John the Baptist, who was feared by kings and despised by people who he confronted with the truth, spent the last year and half of his life in jail. When Nero was Emperor, Paul was locked in a prison in Rome. He was taken from the prison and according to historian Ignatius, beheaded, which was a benefit afforded him as a Roman citizen. Interestingly John the Baptist had his head cut off too. It was served up on a platter by Herod. There was a plot against John. Herodias planned a method to bring about the murder of John, so that Herod would save face from John’s indictments on Herod’s sinful relationships. On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before him and his court. Her dancing pleased Herod and put him in a jovial mood. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, give me here John the Baptist’s head. Herod perhaps thought that by getting rid of John, he would no longer be confronted by his sins, but then Jesus started preaching the same message that John did, and He became even more popular with the people. Herod and Nero ultimately failed but John the Baptist and Paul succeeded. You see, God can turn what people consider human failure into heavenly favor. That is the miracle of Holy History. Friends, the only sure way to ultimately succeed is to please God and the only sure way to fail is to try and please everyone.
Bottom of Form
Pray we pay attention to the good examples set before us. Pray are careful what promises we make. Pray not lose our heads but if we do, pray it be for a good cause. Pray we realize that God can and does turn failure into favor. Pray we do what is right, even when it is hard. Pray we passionately proclaim the Gospel of Christ with uncompromising truth. Pray God empowers us as leaders and as followers to build up, to influence and to persuade others. Pray we realize that like Paul and John the Baptist we have been entrusted by God to speak, not to please people but to please God. Pray we learn from Paul and John the Baptist and live like Jesus. Pray we share the Gospel boldly with truth and love.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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