“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

I have a confession. I’m a recovering people pleaser. I’m guessing it comes from a deep desire to be authentically loved and accepted for who I am, just as I am. Don’t we all want that to a degree? To be safe to be our authentic selves? I do – at least I think I do. 

In order to recover from being a people pleaser, I just first back up to the question Paul asked: Am I now trying to win people’s approval or G-d’s? Some translations use the word persuaded instead of win. The Greek word used here is peíthō which means to make friends of, to win one’s favor, gain one’s good-will,  or strive to please one. 

While I believe we should be kind and show ourselves friendly, I am the first to admit I am not everyone’s “cup of tea.” I’m a whole event – an acquired taste! So instead of trying to focus on forcing a relationship with people who do not reciprocate, I’ve tried to invest more in the relationships that do. 

For years I hated who I was and tried to compensate by working hard to win favor of almost everyone. It was a former supervisor who taught me how to leverage my self perceived “weaknesses” (ie: being an introvert) as a strength. She taught me how to courageously embrace my authentic self. It helped curb my people pleasing tendencies a tad, but I still have work to do.

And, the even better news is that there is One who loves me as I am, the real me. There’s One who takes all of me, just as I am. As long as I focus on pleasing Him, things will be ok. 

Father- Thank You for loving me. Thank You for who You created me to be. Help me to keep my focus on You alone. You are good and You keep doing good. Your leadership in my life is perfect and You can be trusted.

Daily Reading: Galatians 1-3

November 24, 2022