Oh, does anyone out there resonate with that title? Like, let’s be honest. If you honestly examine yourself and your world around you, maybe, just maybe, there might be a “PEOPLE PLEASER” or two to find. 🙂 Or maybe a bit more accurate — one big one sitting right there inside your soul. And maybe I know this because “maybe” I’ve been this, and maybe that’s why today’s reading really spoke so much to me.

Yes, today I dove right into Acts again. And I sat there, chapter 14 covered and so many cool concepts discovered! And the one that stood out to me most was the one which only took two verses to tell. But let me share a bit of a backdrop first….

Once again, we have disciples Paul and Barnabas. Let’s call them “Team P, B and J” — I’ll explain the “J” later. 😉 And off they go to another town, community and region, all for the reason of? Spreading GOD’s Word! 

And, boy oh boy, have the people ever heard about them coming. They are excited, they are stoked, and they are so ready to treat them and turn them into … little mini-gods! Not kidding.

Yup, if you take a peek at verses 11-13, you will see the crowd thought the disciples were so “miraculous” that they wanted to get rid of Zeus (their current powerful Greek god) and move these guys in place. WOW. I guess they just loved the LORD and loved His mission, and now things here have landed oh-so-happy and, well…

Well, not quite….

Somewhere between verse 18 (where Paul and Barnabas literally had a hard time keeping the crowd from “sacrificing to them”) and verse 19, a HUGE shift in the people took place.

And here is that verse 19: “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.”

Hmm….

One day the people say the disciples are heroes; the next, they want to hang them.

How fickle … and unpredictable. And so, just what is the lesson here?

Well, I see and hear and have been through many situations where people outside of me — or wait, let’s be honest, this “fickleness” totally applies to me too!! 🙂 — people feel and say and commit to ONE thing one day, and then … BOOM!  The very next, they (or “we” … OK, me!!!) 🙂 are talking a different talk, walking a different walk and, well, possibly hurting and harming those around us.

Just like the Jewish crowds did to Paul and Barnabas. And so, what are they (and we) to do??

Well, good thing our team in Acts is NOT just “P and B,” but they in truth had a “J” which I am sure most of you have figured out is JESUS.

Yup, because they (and we) had God on their side, and because their MOTIVES and MISSION were all based on HIS TRUTHS, they could choose to walk away, not letting something someone else thought of them … or said of them … GET to them!

Nope, they could go to GOD and know that “I AM doing and saying and being and living my life based on YOUR TRUTHS, even if and when others are NOT telling the truth about me or my choices.”

‘Cause the truth is sometimes THAT is all we can do — walk away knowing someone out there is not talking well of us. But just like the disciples, knowing in our SOUL that what we are saying and doing is truly for GOD’s glory. 

End of story.

And so, to all those “People Pleasers” out there, I share this because it is something I went through too — having to recognize, like these wise guys, that you cannot make everyone “happy” (“happy” according to them, or you). And even if one day you think you do?? The next it could easily do a full-out “change-a-roo.”

So, maybe we need to change our aim to be more like Paul, with the GOAL of it all to make only GOD happy, ‘cause if I read it right, THAT is the only way to truly find joy, happiness and the HOLY Spirit living in me each and every day (Acts 13:52). 

Instead of being PEOPLE Pleasers, we can choose to be HIS PASSION-SEEKERS, no matter what anyone else (even my head) 🙂 has to say.

Carol 😉

Questions:

1) Do you know any “people pleasers” out there? Would you consider yourself one? Why or why not?

2) What are your motives for wanting to make “everyone happy”? Is it truly “everyone” you try to make happy? Or only a specific group/person? And how do you know they’ll be “happy”? Have you ever reached that outcome with anyone, and if so, how long did it last for?

3) How would you define “Happy”? How do you feel GOD would define it? What would have to change to make those two “Happies” match?

4) Take a look at Acts 18 when Paul takes a trip to Corinth. Note Paul’s approach to talk with the people (verse 4), how he “reasoned” with them for WEEKS and tried to persuade them (and PS he was a super smart, educated guy). How effective was this approach with these people? Then check out verse 6 and note how the people responded and what PAUL chose to do after.

5) Now look at verses 7-8. Here we have the same guy (Paul), telling the same truth (GOD’S!), but how did it land with this people group? How about totally the opposite!! 🙂

6) So, same man, same message, but two totally opposite reactions and responses to it. Should PAUL change HIS truth? Or once shared, because he cared, is it OK for him to have walked away? Or does PAUL need to shift his methods, mission and motive so BOTH groups will be ”Happy”? Would that even be possible?

So, what do you think the lesson in this is for us? Can we control other people’s reactions? If we follow Paul’s example, it seems we best care for people by keeping true to THE TRUTH, even when it is not easy.

WHOSE definition of TRUTH and HAPPY will you choose to follow? Others’? Yours? Or HIS? 

The CHOICE is up to you. 🙂