Pleasing God or People

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

PLEASING GOD OR PEOPLE

Luke 6:24-26

24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

NIV

There is a danger when people speak well of us. Why would that be? Are we not supposed to reflect the glory of God? Are we not supposed to be image bearers of God, the light of the world, the salt of the earth? Are we not supposed to declare the good news? Why then would it be bad for people to speak well of us? We know about the false prophets of today who are most likely the same kind of men that were in the time of Jesus. They speak with a silver tongue, tickling the ears of those who hear them. They tell people what they want to hear and gather crowds to themselves, followers that support them, and their abundant lifestyle. It is all about making people speak well of them. That is the example Jesus used to warn us not to be like them. That is, we should not be about looking to make ourselves look good to people. Should we be living in a manner to please people, telling them what they want to hear, instead of being truthful about the good news? Of course, we are not sure which people group Jesus was referring to. It could be the group of people who have yet to hear the good news or have heard it and rejected it, preferring to live in the darkness. He could have referred to the people group that are believers and those we live with in the church. In that case, it would not be good to live within a façade, showing ourselves as being holy and righteous, almost as one who does not sin, in essence living to please the others in the church, instead of living transparently, admitting we are simply another sinner saved by grace. But the whole message here, the truth Jesus is speaking is that we should be living in a manner that pleases God, rather than pleasing people. Yes, we are still supposed to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the image bearer of God, the reflector of his glory, so that people will see the light in us, they will see the glory of God reflecting off of us, and they will see Jesus when they see us, then we will be pleasing to God, and just maybe some people will be pleased enough to come out of the darkness and into the light of Jesus.