An Audience of One
Galatians 1:10 Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (NRSV)
It’s going on thirty years since my dear old dad passed out of this world. I still think of him. I still wish he was here to chat to. After all, he was my dad. But I wonder how many others in this world remember him.
I’m guessing not many. All those men and women that he worked with at the steelworks; the choir he led and conducted – of course many of those people are gone too – but I’d hazard a guess that other than my mother and myself, no one else on planet Earth gives him a passing thought, even though he was a really good guy. My point?
John Chrysostom around 387 AD said this – “If you only knew how quickly people would forget about you after your death, you would not seek in your life to please anyone but God.”
Of course we should do good for other people. But if we do it for their recognition, their applause, then let’s be honest … that’s going to be a fleeting reward. Paul the Apostle put it like this:
Galatians 1:10 Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (NRSV)
In other words, in all that he did in this world, even in all the good that he did for others – and you and I are still benefiting from that – he was in fact playing to an audience of One. He was doing it for God and God alone.
People pleasing is a fickle pursuit. One day they’re applauding you. The next they’re shouting, “crucify him”, right? So by all means, do good. But do it for God.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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