Now am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah). —Galatians 1:10 AMPC
Trying to please men ultimately becomes a lose-lose attempt.
First, people are fickle and I cannot please all of them all of the time. Second, in attempting to please some people I would have to compromise the truth of the Bible.
The only favor I should seek is the One who saved me and sent me. It is Christ’s voice alone that I long to hear say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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Near the end of his letter to the saints in Galatia, Paul takes a minute to talk about “those who want to impress people” (Galatians 6:12). Check out how some of the other translations render this phrase—
NLT: want to look good to others
AMPC: make a good impression
NASB: make a good showing
There’s only one way that I can think of for men to look good to other men, and that is to create a man-made program that plays to my strength so that others are impressed with how good I am. It’s only playing a game.
Paul calls out this foolish pursuit, saying, “the only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the Cross of Christ” (v. 12). In other words, they think that if they are popular with men, men will leave them alone, not troubling them for their belief in Jesus.
In Paul’s letter to the saints at Philippi, he says that these earthly-minded people might make themselves look good to other earthly-minded people, but they really “live as enemies of the Cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18).
Doesn’t this put my desire to look good to other people in a different light when I realize that earthly popularity may make me an enemy of the Cross?
Craig T. Owens 