Pleasing people

God was pleased to trust us with His message. We didn't speak to please people, but to please God, who knows our motives.

- The Bible

Life in general is filled with trying to please people. We try to please our teachers, our friends, our relatives, our colleagues, our bosses, our family... jus about everyone. There are different levels of trying to please people, of course. But at the heart of it all, is the basic human desire to be well-liked (or atleast, liked) by the ones around us.

In the beginning of 1 Thessalonians, we see Paul praising the Thessalonians. He says that the whole world knows of their faith and what they have done for it (Chapter 1). In the second chapter, he starts talking about this faith being brought to them; that they (Paul & Co.) faced several trials and difficulties, but they still did it. Why? Cos they were doing it to please God.

This is an awesome thought. We all know it; but seldom live it. If we just stop living to please men (and women!) and start living to please God, we'll see a whole world of difference. We would not be discouraged as often as we usually are when people say bad things about us - cos it really wouldn't matter. We could hold our heads up high and walk the wire of the Christian faith, banking only on the guarantee of the fact that our Lord is pleased with what we are doing.

And yes, Amen to that.