People Pleasing 101

Are you a people pleaser?

Do you get your value from how others think of or accept you?

As a Christian, your affirmation, value, and confidence should come from God alone. In a society where our acceptance so often comes from social media likes or shares, it is easy to get sucked into the art of trying to please everyone! If you do have a tendency to want to make everyone happy all the time and you often weigh your value and emotions on how others think about you, stop doing these three things immediately!

First, stop trying to please everyone! Jesus, Himself, couldn’t even please everyone! John 15:18 says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” If you always aim to make everyone else happy, at some point, you will be compromising what pleases the Lord and what makes you happy. In fact, the same uniqueness that some people may not understand or like about you is the same uniqueness that will cause you to reach the people you are meant to reach. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and you need to be okay with that! You are you for a reason. Not that you should use that excuse to treat people poorly, but as long as you’re pleasing the Lord and operating out of love, that’s what matters.

Second, stop trying to be someone else! Your best is enough. When you try to please people, you will find yourself falling into the comparison trap. Soon, you will be measuring yourself against others to find your worth. The Apostle Paul warns us that this is not wise!

“ Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves, But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”- 2 Corinthians 10:12.

Your best isn’t determined by how you measure up against everyone else; it is determined by you becoming the best version of you! When you are trying to be as “good” as someone else, you miss out on the incredibly gifted, anointed person God created you to be. Your best is enough!

Third, stop making excuses! One day you will stand before God and give an account for how you stewarded the assignment of life that He gave you. Most excuses stem from false humility which is a form of pride. Pride can come out in the form of fear of rejection, fear of man, fear of failure—all attributes of seeking to preserve self and please people over pleasing God. In fact, the greatest message you have is the story of your life. Somebody is actually waiting on the other side of your obedience for you to be you! What you think disqualifies you is actually what qualifies you when you hand it over to Jesus! His power is perfected in the areas you feel weak.

Your message is just that—your message! Find your affirmation and confidence in the Lord, not man and know that somebody needs your contribution!