LIVING TO PLEASE ONLY JESUS

The only one we should be seeking to please is Jesus. The single purpose of our hearts should be glorifying him in all that we do. There were numerous times the apostle Paul made this clear regarding his own life. The only audience Paul was performing for was a heavenly one. His only goal was to be well-pleasing to God (2 Cor. 5:9; 1 Thes. 2:4).

If we would learn to focus on an audience of one—God—then we would know that what he thinks is all that matters. How much time most of us have wasted because we have cared more about what others around us think than what the God of the universe thinks. This is where we demonstrate that our problem is not confined to solitary acts. We have corrupt hearts that fail to give God the honor and the supremacy in our lives that he deserves.

When we make it our only objective to be well-pleasing to Christ, we eliminate a lot of hassle and worry from our lives. Our existence becomes characterized by simplicity and singleness of mind. Our purpose is clear. Therefore, everything we do has meaning. Those who are trying to please men rather than God, or who are at the very least trying to live their lives to please both God and man, will constantly find themselves with divided loyalties and conflicts of interest. You can only have one God.

The life we lived before following Christ was a life of sin in the service of Satan and self. But when we repent, we turn our backs on that way of life and we give ourselves to Christ. That is what “conversion” is. “Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Now, let’s live only to please Christ.

Dewayne Dunaway