Am I now trying to win people’s approval, or God’s? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Messiah. Galatians 1:10, TLV

Are You a People-Pleaser?   What is a people-pleaser? A people-pleaser is defined as: a person who has a strong urge to please others, even if at their own expense. They may feel that their own wants and needs do not matter, or they alter their personality around others.

The Apostle Paul was having a time of it with the Galatians. Have you ever been intimidated? What if someone said the fate of your salvation rested on following their instructions? Following rules that for thousands of years people were unable to fully obey? That Jesus’s blood atonement wasn’t enough to cover our sins?

That’s what was happening to the new Gentile believers in Galatia. Orthodox Jewish believers in Yeshua felt that it was their duty to convert Gentiles into Jews. To do that they wanted the men to be circumcised and follow not just Mosaic laws—which were given by GOD—but following the “oral” man-made laws passed on for hundreds of years. Laws the Jewish people couldn’t even perfectly follow themselves.

For you have heard of my [Paul’s] earlier behavior in Judaism—how I persecuted God’s community beyond measure and tried to destroy it. I was even advancing within Judaism beyond many my own age among my people, being a more extreme observer of my fathers’ traditions. (vss. 13-14, TLV)

Before Paul’s radical salvation on the Damascus road (Acts 9), he too believed it was through the Torah (the Law) that he was pleasing GOD. That it was through his own exacting deeds that he was saved.

After his experience with the Messiah (Acts 9:3-5), Paul realized that he would never be good enough to “save himself.” It was only through the blood sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared—not by deeds of righteousness which we had done ourselves, but because of His mercy—He saved us through the mikveh [immersion] of rebirth and renewing of the Ruach ha-Kodesh [Holy Spirit], whom He abundantly poured out on us through Messiah Yeshua our Savior, so that being set right by His grace, we might become heirs with the confident hope of eternal life! (Titus 3:4-7, TLV, emphasis mine)

Okay. So, what does this have to do with people-pleasing?

Imagine growing up as a pagan or living a criminal life and we suddenly learn just how sinful our life was. We’re so convicted of these sins we can’t stand to look at ourselves—we’re devastated.

A wise person tells us that Jesus will forgive every single sin if we turn away from that life and follow Him. What freedom. We don’t have to earn our forgiveness and freedom, it is a gift—we just follower the Giver.

Then someone comes to us and says, “Hey, that’s cool you believe in the Messiah’s atonement for your sins, but if you really want to be saved, then you need to follow our rituals and customs. The customs of the Messiah’s people who have believed in the GOD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for thousands of years.”

Some of these customs are beautiful and commanded by GOD in His word, so we’re still probably dealing with our past sins—the guilt and temptations—and think, “Oh. So, if I do more stuff, then I’ll really be saved. Because I was a horrible sinner and I need all the help I can get.”

OY!

Did Yeshua tell Paul that he needed to become a better follower of the Torah or just turn from Paul’s sins and follow Yeshua?

The poor Galatians wanted to do whatever they needed to do to be saved, when in fact, they were covered by the blood of their Messiah and Savior.

Does this still happen today?

*Sigh* Yes, this still happens today. Especially to new believers and those so insecure of their worth in Messiah they are easy prey to manipulators and well-intentioned—but misinformed—leaders.

If we go back to the prophecy of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:30-33, our Heavenly Father longs for us to serve Him out of love, not fear that we will lose our salvation.

Is the Law important? Of course it is.

Do we then nullify the Torah [the Law] through faithfulness? May it never be! On the contrary, we uphold the Torah. (Romans 3:31, TLV)

We follow Yeshua’s master’s class on the Torah through the Gospels, knowing all the while we’ll never be perfect. But, praise the LORD!, we can repent and be forgiven. We don’t lose our salvation. It’s the trying that wins our Father’s heart and makes Him smile, but it’s His Son’s sacrifice that covers our sins and blunders.

Unfortunately, there are bullies within and without the believers’ world. When we focus on GOD’s word and walk as best as we can, we don’t have to be people-pleasers. We’ll be GOD pleasers. Yes?

Happy Valentine’s Day!