An Audience of One

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. -Proverbs 29:25

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. -Galatians 1:10

People pleasers are not good Christ followers. Seriously. There are many filling pulpits who are not called to be preachers, but aim to be pleasers of people even as we speak. Paul calls them soothers of “itching ears.” Yet it’s not merely preachers who are people pleasers: there are many in Christendom who, just to hear less complaining, will grease every squeaking wheel they come across. They want to make people happy, and so they do everything they can, even caving in on their Christian convictions, to please others. This, however, is not what we are called to. Paul puts it this way:“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2:1-7)Paul is saying compete as if to win the prize! Work to gain a Harvest! Aim to please your Commanding Officer! And what is our prize and our reward for the Harvest, and who is our commanding officer? Jesus Christ is all of these! He is our reward, and we’re working to serve none but Him. Just as Jeremiah preached and suffered for 40 years and saw no fruit yield, but instead served God instead of man, so too we must aim to please the Lord our God in all we do! Those who complain, those who seek their own personal power, praise, and reward, are here only for a moment. The Lord is Forever. Seek to please Him in all you do, and do not let the whispers of the fleshly and of Satan whom they serve (whether willingly or unwittingly), derail your purpose! God is for you! Seek the Audience of One, and everything else, love for your neighbor and good works, will come from the overflow He sends! Stay focused on Jesus, the Author and finisher of your faith, and watch how the complaints tend to melt away. God was pleased to send His Son to die for you that you may be restored to Him. Focus on that, for you will never appease the appetites of the crowd.

Ephesians 6:5-9

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Colossians 3:22

Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

2 Timothy 4:1-8

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.