People-pleasing (1)

To ensure victory in battle, King Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel the prophet to come and offer a sacrifice to God. But as the week wore on and the people grew impatient, Saul offered the sacrifice himself. When Samuel demanded to know why, Saul replied it was because the people were scattering. Samuel said, ‘You have done foolishly…The Lord would have established your kingdom… forever, but now your kingdom will not continue.’ (1 Samuel 13:14 NRS)

Because Saul needed people’s approval, he lost everything. Speaking truthfully may not be easy, but the Bible tells us to do it anyway. People-pleasing is inherently dishonest because you’re telling others what they want to hear, instead of what you need to say. Now, you can’t be rude and insensitive, but you can’t be intimidated either. Just because somebody doesn’t want to hear the truth doesn’t take away your responsibility to speak it.

Have you ever felt uneasy about something somebody asked you to do? One of the ways God leads us is through a sense of inner peace. Isaiah says you’ll be ‘led forth in peace.’ (Isaiah 55:12 NIV) And Paul writes, ‘Pursue the things which make for peace.’ (Romans 14:19 NKJV)

When something doesn’t feel right, speak up. Say, ‘I don’t have peace about this.’ People shouldn’t expect you to proceed until you do, but that rarely happens when others place demands on us. Jesus told His disciples: ‘If no one… listens to your words, as you leave that house… shake its dust off your feet.’ (Matthew 10:14 ISV) When somebody’s reaction threatens to stop you from doing what you know is right—it’s time to shake it off and move on.