Who Are You Trying to Please?

 

By Andrea Merrell

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit,

but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Philippians 2:3 NKJV

 

For so much of my life I was a bona fide people pleaser. Unsure of myself and lacking a healthy sense of self-esteem, I tried to be and do what I thought everyone else expected of me. What I didn’t realize at the time was that my efforts were rooted in pride and selfishness. I cared more about what people thought about me than I cared for those people. 

My misguided and performance-oriented efforts led to nothing more than hopelessness, anxiety, and feelings of being less than, never good enough. I was seeking acceptance and approval in the wrong places.

The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians that we should esteem others better than ourselves. The NLT says it like this: “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.”

Once I found my true identity in Christ and took my focus off myself, I learned to be less self-conscious and more God-conscious. My approval and acceptance come from Him, and He is the only one I need to please—not others and not even myself. That revelation set me free to love others without any selfish motives.

One writer says that we should care about others even when they don’t care about us. That’s the love of God in action.

So ... who are you trying to please?

Photo by Ricky Kharawala on Unsplash