Have you been following the Talent sensation Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent? She is the 48 year old who took the world by storm when she sang “I Dreamed A Dream” and found immediate international stardom because of Youtube. The media is now reporting how she got upset when one of the judges praised her competition. She obviously wants to be the best in the judge’s eyes.
So whose praise do you seek each day? We all have our own audience or judge we are hoping to please. It may be a parent, a group of friends, a boss, or a spouse, but we all have someone we seek approval from in our lives whether we are aware of it or not.
The Apostle Paul was very clear about his choice throughout scripture. He strived with one purpose and one purpose only. His desire was to please the Lord and no one else. In Galatians 1:10 he says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” He makes a very valid point for all of us in this verse. We cannot aim to please men and be a servant of Christ at the same time. Jesus makes the same point in Matthew 6:24a when He says “”No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other.”
We have to make a choice. Who are we aiming to serve? Obviously you can be a servant of the Lord’s and walk that out by serving other people, but what is your goal? Who are you aiming to please? Where does the buck stop? Do you make your decisions in life based on what others would think or on what God would think?
Joshua was challenged with this same question by the people who were following his leadership and his answer was clear. “….choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” [Joshua 24:15]
Joshua didn’t beat around the bush. He was clear in stating we all had to make a choice each day of our lives who we were serving. All of our decisions and actions flow out of the choice we make. Others may or may not be served along the way as a by-product, but ultimately we must choose one.
Who will you choose today?