Serving God, Not Man

The Apostle Paul, in Galatians, penned the following in his letter to the Galatians: “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased man, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10) A simple question that is followed by a powerful answer, that Christians have honorable duty to serve God before any man. Triangulating Galatians 1:10 by taking a close look from three points of reference, namely, the Biblical view, how modern day Christians can apply the concept, and a personal illustration we will discover the lesson that lies behind this verse.

The nation of Israel had just escaped their four hundred arduous years of being slaves in Egypt. They had spent many months in the Sinai desert trudging through the broiling sand under a merciless sun. On the horizon, Canaan appeared as a dark silhouette of lush trees. A welcome sight after traveling through a bleak desert, the Promise Land lived up to its name. Moses, a wise leader, decided that it would be a good idea to send some spies so the Hebrew nation do not nonchalantly walk into someone’s backyard unprepared. Moses democratically picked one man from each of the twelve tribes to scout out the land before them and give a report of the land’s resources. After the twelve men completed their reconnaissance, they returned bringing in clusters of grapes so large it required two men to carry one cluster attached to a poll. They also brought stories of the land that flowed with milk and honey. Of course, the twelve men also informed the people that there were monstrous giants that made the Israelites look like grasshoppers. Ten men claimed that any attempt to take the land would result in a massacre. Caleb and Joshua countered by reminding everyone that God was on their side and that the giants would be conquered. Unfortunately, in an effort that placated men but not God, the majority ruled and all received the punishment of wandering in the desert for forty years. Illuminated by the story of the twelve spies, it appears absolutely essential for Christians, especially Christian leaders to strive to please the Almighty God of the Universe than the men of earth.

It is drastically important for a nation to follow God, especially if God represents the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of your government. Ananius and Sapphiras decided to please men with devastating consequences. Because many Christians engaged in selling various articles of wealth and donating them to the local church, Ananius and Sapphiras decided to sell some land, but they decided to skim the profits a little without telling anyone. The deception they displayed before the church and God resulted in instant deaths, a harrowing reminder of the effects that lying and catering to men bring upon someone. In today’s day and age, churches must strive to maintain a spirit of one accord. When half of the church decides to satisfy their own desires and aspirations while the other half hungers to follow God’s will, the church will fall. “And Jesus, knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” (Matthew 12:25) Modern day Christians must learn from their predecessors the importance of following God with all of the heart, mind, and soul. Although the resulting consequences rarely are as dire as those meted out to Ananius and Sapphiras, Christians must rise up to the standard laid out by Jesus and His Father.

All of the insight, inspiring Bible stories, and head knowledge of what you are supposed to do does not matter if the real life application never happens. Why train for something that will never happen? Over winter vacation, I received an assignment to enter the grocery store, select a tub of ice cream from an exacting, predetermined list contain on a piece of paper, purchase the items, and come home. Everything went according to plan until I began to fail at living up to the label society placed upon my peers and myself, Generation Multi-task. Despite the normally justified name, I absolutely could not walk, carry grocery bags, and place the change I received from the cashier into my pocket. The solution? Stop walking. For some reason, probably a God thing, I took the chance to count the money after I saw that there was ten-dollar bill where it wasn’t supposed to be. Checking the receipt I discovered that I should had only received eight dollars back when in reality, thirteen dollars lay in my hand. My conscience decided that I needed to return the money. Walking back into the store, a war raged inside my mind. Was it even possible to return the money because of the technology inside the cash register? If my conscience had not bothered me, my family would save five dollars, which would come to about a 30% savings or more. “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord; but a just weight is his delight.” (Proverbs 11:1) In this particular instance I would unscrupulously taking advantage of the store’s mistake, which would damage my witness. Upon the returning of the money, the worker was extremely grateful. Looking back, I am glad I decided to delight God rather than my inclinations of the flesh.

At this point, an important question comes to the surface, what does this all come down to? Not everyday does the possibility of getting thrown to the lions, selling property to donate the proceeds to a church, or making an important foreign policy decision arises. Some of those things will never happen in some people’s life, but everyone faces little decisions where the choice to please God or to please peers appears with clear distinction. God cares about the seemingly small choices just as He cares about life or nation changing decisions. Christians must stand firmly resolved that they will please God before they attempt to please man.