I’m told there is a dearth in North America of biblical preaching. Even some of the giants are falling, men who normally held fast to the truths of Scripture are now waffling and trying to make the message more “appealing” to their listeners.
My sister told me yesterday that her pastor preached a sermon on a particular sin and said during his message that he knew only two other preachers who would dare to preach on the same topic. Can this failure to proclaim what the Bible says about this or any sin be stamped “people-pleasing” or are the reasons behind it more complicated? I don’t know. I do know that this is not a new thing.
Today’s devotional verse is insightful. Paul is in prison for preaching the gospel. He writes about his experience and says that he is glad the gospel continues to be preached even though,
Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: the former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains. (Philippians 1:15-16)
Even in the early church, some were jealous of Paul. They thought if they took over his job, they would “win” some sort of invisible competition and make themselves look better than the apostle, as if they were better because they never wound up in jail like he did? For them, it was more about looking good and being popular than proclaiming Christ.
After reading another chapter in Lou Priolo’s book, Pleasing People: How not to be an “approval junkie” I spent some time thinking about his topic and my own motivations. I came to the conclusion that, for me at least, pleasing-people is not an accurate description. I’m more interested in pleasing myself. At my sinful worst, I really don’t care what people think as long as I look good, and apart from Christ, I will not go out of my way to do anything to make them happy.
Of course Jesus died to redeem me from that attitude. He offers me His life and the Holy Spirit to change that selfishness into “love thy neighbor as thyself.” While doing so requires my cooperation, His kind of selfless love is His doing. I am not up to it without His grace and without that new life He gave me.
In our many relocations, we have gone to many churches and experienced many kinds of preaching and preachers. Some are gracious and like Jesus most of the time. They know how to speak the truth, surely in love, but without waffling. On the other hand, some have been an on and off mix of flesh and Spirit, confusing the congregation when selfish ambition or arrogance gets thrown into their ministry.
If the preacher is using the Bible and faithful to declare what it says, God is honored and the church enjoys a measure of health. When this does not happen, me-ism, and self-pleasing that looks like people-pleasing are usually present too, and in the long run, no one is pleased.
This is a warning to me and to everyone. Putting my own interests first can take many forms, but if left unchecked, it will have an impact on all that I do. God put me here not to please myself, not even to be a people-pleaser, but to please and glorify Him.
Why is sharing personal faith so difficult? I know what I believe about Jesus Christ is true. I also know that people who reject Christ are in eternal peril. I care about those around me. Why should I hold back from telling them how they can have forgiveness, eternal life and a wonderful relationship with God?
Last night I started reading a book by Lou Priolo called Pleasing People: How not to be an “approval junkie.” The title might be light and catchy, but the content is not. In the preface, the author warns that this book will be convicting and biblical. I read chapter one. It is.
People-pleasing is first a pride thing. I want people to like me. As I closed the book and turned out the light last night, I asked myself why. Why does it matter? I want to please God more? Or do I? All I could come up with was that having people like me feels good and makes me look good. In other words, my reasons are all about me. That is hardly bottom-line spirituality.
This morning, my devotional guide offers a verse that ties in with what I read last night and adds another facet to this fear. Paul tells about his experience in jail and writes this:
Most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:14)
In their hostile world, speaking about Jesus Christ could mean their freedom or even their life. Paul was in jail because he preached about Jesus. Most people will do what they can to avoid such physical confinement, yet as these believers saw Paul in jail and watched him remain faithful to share the gospel, they realized that God was still with him. As a result, most of them lost their fear of the repercussions and opened their mouths.
Most of them. That phrase catches my eye. It tells me that their fear about proclaiming Christ ran deep. The example of Paul helped most of them, but there were some who were still afraid. They knew that God was blessing Paul, but perhaps wondered if God would do the same for them. After all, Paul was a spiritual giant, a leader. Perhaps those in the “less than most” group were ordinary people, like me.
I could try to imagine being there, and imagine which group I would I have been in — the “most” of them, or the few that were still deeply self-protective? Such imagining is unproductive. I must examine myself in the light of what God asks of me right now, in this century, and in the situations where I find myself today.
Logic tells me that no one will throw me in jail for telling others about Christ. No one will haul me before a judge, and most people will not even be openly nasty if they don’t like it. My limited experience tells me that a few are interested in Jesus, not many, but a few. Most are indifferent or even clueless. Their eyes glaze over because they do not get it. They politely change the subject. Is that rejection? Not according to most definitions.
Logic says my pride is pointless. Logic says my fears are groundless. The Holy Spirit tells me that my silence is faithless and my selfishness is disobedience.
I’m rapidly backing myself into a Cross.
