Saturday 2 Nov 2013

Saturday Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:32-33

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:33
33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Devotion:
It is impossible to please all men all of the time. It is hard enough to please your friends, never mind the people who just do not seem to want to be pleased by you! If we take these words literally we come up against a problem because Jesus certainly did not please everyone all of the time; but what Jesus tried to do was to do the best for all people all of the time. Whilst we may not be able to do that in that we do not know what is best for everyone, Jesus was and is able to do that.

What we should be doing is trying not to work against people, trying not to upset people, trying not to upset God and the church. If it were possible for us to do that then we would be able to keep the peace at all times; but it is not possible for us to please everyone. In those cases we need to aim to please God first of all. He is the one who should be guiding our footsteps and as long as we are listening to Him then we should be able to get closer to doing what is best for the people around us.

So many people are focused on what is best for them and what they can get out of life. That is not what Jesus was showing others when He was here on earth. Jesus was always doing the will of God and always willing to try to please others. It was only when those two conflicted that He would do the will of God in preference to pleasing man. That is the example to which we need to try and work towards.

If we alienate ourselves from the people around us then they are not going to be able to see God and His ways through us; we change the focus from being toward God to being toward us and that is wrong. Showing people compassion and love is what Christ was doing. Sometimes that would upset some people because they could not see God’s will; but Jesus was focused on God’s will and tried to make sure that people saw that instead of their own ways. Yes it is hard to please everyone, but if we cannot do that, pleasing God is what does count.

Points to Ponder:
Do you upset people regularly?

Do you upset God regularly?