Who are you pleasing?

Who are you aiming to please?

That’s a question I’ve been asking myself recently.

Back in high school, my 17-year-old self would say things like “I don’t care what people think of me”.

Deep down to my core, I knew that was a lie.

I cared a lot.

I felt lost and extremely self conscious.

And I felt this way for another 8 years.

I was never into drinking alcohol.

But because I was hanging around the wrong crowd, I folded.

Who wants to be the party pooper?

Not me, I thought.

So, I started drinking with my buddies.

And I developed a habit of drinking with them every time we meetup.

I was pleasing the wrong people.

Fast forward to July 10, 2022, and that changed.

What happened on July 10, 2022, you may ask?

I got baptized.

It’s the day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior.

And no, all my problems didn’t go away.

But something changed in me.

I started developing the habit of reading/studying the bible.

And in my studies, I noticed I could apply what I read in the bible and use it in everyday life.

So, my relationship with the bible changed completely.

I used to think the bible was a book about religion.

But it’s not.

It has religion in it.

But what it actually is, is it’s a guidebook for life.

And in my 1 year and 9 months of reading it, I found it to be a book all about improving my relationships.

What relationships am I talking about?

1. Improving the relationship between me and myself.

2. Improving the relationship between me and the people God has placed around me.

3. The most important, improving the relationship between me and my Abba (Holy Father).

Now that I’ve shared my perspective, I wanna look at a few verses in Galatians.

And by the way, I’m no bible scholar.

I don’t have a degree.

I didn’t go to seminary school or anything like that.

I’m just sharing my 0.2 cents.

The only credentials I can give you is that I read, learn, study and apply it to my life.

So, if I’m completely wrong about any of this, please shoot me an e-mail.

I don’t wanna be sending out any false information.

With that being said, let’s dive right in.

What passage are we diving into today?

Galatians.

Chapter 1, verses 10-12.

As a side note, I like to use NKJV.

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Remember when I mentioned that story about me drinking with my buddies and pleasing the wrong people?

Paul wasn’t concerned about pleasing anyone.

He was consistently seeking the approval of God.

He didn’t go off of the opinions of other people.

Why does Paul make this statement?

Paul makes this statement because there was a group of people known as the Judaizers who were questioning his authority as an apostle.

The Judaizers were saying he wasn’t a “real” apostle because he wasn’t part of the original 12.

This group of Judaizers came to Galatia after Paul’s first missionary trip.

Who even are the Judaizers?

The Judaizers were jews teaching the christian Galatians that they had to follow the Mosaic Law to truly be saved.

They were adding more to the gospel.

I love Paul’s response to the claim that he isn’t a “real” apostle.

Paul says in chapter 1, verse 11-12:

11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 

12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul was receiving direct revelation from Christ Himself.

That’s what gives Paul the authority to be called an apostle.

So, after reading these verses and studying the passages, here’s how I’m applying this to my life.

I’m now living my life in a way where I’m much more God conscious than people conscious.

As a servant of Christ, I’m here to please the Lord.

I’m not here to please men.

If I live my life in a way that offends others, that isn’t my intention.

But again, I’m not here to please men.

I’m here to please the Lord.

And that’s how I choose to live my life now.

Today’s newsletter went out way later than I had intended.

And it might be all over the place.

After all, this is my first newsletter with the new topic change and the new format change.

Lemme know what you think.

I love to write, and I would love to hear the feedback to make this even better next time.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed rest of your day.

This is your brother Alex signing out.

Peace.

P.S

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