I have been a pastor for more than 40 years and, I have come to the conclusion that no matter what you do, you cannot please everyone. Some people will disagree with you regardless of how beneficial what you are trying to do may be.  Let me be clear– trying to please everyone is not just difficult within the church; it can also be difficult within families and sometimes even among friends. But God will give us the glory when we do what He has called us to do. The scripture lesson today speaks clearly about the need to stop trying to please people. In Galatians 1:10, we find these words:

“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

Paul was not appointed by any group of people, but by Jesus Himself. He writes to his brothers and sisters because he was concerned that they were moving away from what God had called them to do. He was not speaking to them to win their approval, but rather because of his commitment to God. Prayerfully, today, we are all committed to live and serve God in ways that will honor Him in spite of those who will disagree with some of the things that we are called by God to do. We cannot please all the people, so we should stop trying, but we should definitely strive to please God.