Menpleasers

No not the Nelly Furtado song! But what Christians can become so easily when they put themselves first before God. Are we seeking to please men rather than the Lord? I was talking to Kwame a colleague in the office here about integrity especially in studying.

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ

Who do we seek to please? We live our lives in complete dedication and thankfulness to the one who saved us from the pit of Hell...Do we live in thankfulness to him, like a neon sign pointing the way to the truth? Or do we let our standards slip..... do we let our integrity slip so that we dont stand out as much. Its like a colured map of say Africa, if we coloured it in we wouldnt know where the countries start and stop. We have no boundaries, nothing to make a difference from one place to another.

As Christians whether we like it or not we need boundaries and when we seek to please others who think its ok to indulge in acts that damage integrity or honesty or justice then we are putting rags over our princely cleanesed garments. We are preffering to stand in a place where sin taints us and changes us bit by bit. We are meant to shine in the darkness but I know that I've let the dim my light.

Part of me wants to talk about the things that I feel ruin my integrity, what i've become lax in and what i've let change me, but it would sound judgemental. But see those things running through your head? Yeah that's the ones, they are what i'm talkin about. We know they're wrong, we know we shouldnt do them but we do, just to be accepted. Just to feel like one of the gang, or get that promotion orfurther yourself in the quest to be well off. It can even happen in church where we bend what God wants us to say so the congregation likes us more.

Maintaining integrity hurts. It hurts bad, but we're called to be odd for Christ. Why does our idiosncrasies change us? Because we give into them. We let ourselves warp and controt to fit the mould those around us want us to be in not what God has called us to be. Ruth often tells me to be me, the guy she fell in love with, supposedly I have a shred of integrity kicking about in there and thats what she loves. But it changes and it contorts.

We'll be accountable to the one who loves us and saved us from sin, accountable for the state of our integrity to Christians and our fellow man. I was given a lighter from Malta by my mate Mike, its awesome, a real cool fire toy lol Its like a Zippo one, its just a lovely ornamental gift but the kids saw me playin with it and asked if i smoked. They changed their opinion of me, that simple act of messin about with a lighter caused children to look at me differently, my halo became that little bit duller. Its not that i'm awesome and saintly but one of the Jesus' that child looks up to at camp for that week is a little less like Jesus in their eyes now.

Things are pure to the pure, but if we do it in darkened corners away from the public light, does it protect our integrity?

I hate the cheesiness I despise the schmalzy americanised tone, but would you do it in front of Jesus? We are told to give extravagant worship and refrain from being men pleasers there, but in our daily lives do we please others more than God? I think we do and its time to re-evaluate.....

Comments

[Molar]

I would most definately light a lighter in front of Jesus...he would probably bring the old tattered newspaper to burn!!

Don't be too hard on yourself big lad...you talk about not pleasing man, but I think even in the way we write these things we are trying to please man. Yes, try and refrain from things you know that are gonna upset/hurt/offend, but at the end of the day, what counts most is that Jesus knows your heart-man will always find something to bring you down on!

Oh, by the way, there actually are some curse words in Deathly Hallows, as I'm sure you will have discovered...mental!

Peace

[Im sure you'll guess]

You should do one called 'Motherpleasers'!