Today’s post was written by novel writer and blogger Aleigha C. Israel. Her thought-provoking post is an encouragement to all of us to remember whom we should ultimately desire to please in everything that we do.
Aiming to Please
How many times have you heard Christians say this phrase: “It’s good enough”? But I’ve often wondered what they mean exactly. Who or what determines if something is good enough?
I used to have very high standards for making my bed. My comforter had to hang over my bed only so much. My pillows (all six of them) had to be fluffed. You get the picture.
I instilled those very high bed-making standards in my younger sister, which is probably why my own bed-making standards aren’t as high anymore. In fact, she’s the one who pointed out to me this morning that my comforter wasn’t hanging perfectly straight over my bed. And because I didn’t feel like fixing it, I responded, “Eh, it’s good enough.”
Our conversation caused me to wonder: What is good enough? I mean, whom do we make our beds for and cook our meals for and fold our laundry for?
Honestly, the answer isn’t me or you. It’s not even our families or our friends. It’s Christ. He is the reason why we do everything in life. We don’t (or at least we shouldn’t) work to receive praise from people. Rather, our aim should be to please Christ.
Ultimately Serving God
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 ESV)
Paul told the Galatians that if they were serving men rather than God, then they weren’t behaving as Christ’s servants. It’s important for us to consider whether we’re serving men or God—and to understand how to shift our allegiance if we’re serving the wrong masters!
When we serve Christ, we aren’t serving ourselves. Nor are we primarily serving others. While serving others is indeed biblical, our aim in serving others shouldn’t be to make ourselves look good or to receive their praise. When we serve others, we’re ultimately serving God!
Think about it this way: If you’re mopping the floor—doing the best job that you’ve ever done—to please your supervisor, what do you hope he’ll do when he comes to check your work? Do you hope to receive his praise? If he does praise you, will you feel pleased with your work? And if he doesn’t praise you, will you feel like a failure?
It’s easy to crave the admiration of others, but we should ultimately desire to honor the Lord in everything that we do. He’s pleased when we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. Let’s serve Him to the best of our ability because He’s worthy of our very best.
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