Deal with others well (5)

Even though Paul is now known as a solid, church-building hero-of-the-faith, he had to deal with his fair share of people getting upset with him in his day. He dealt with it by having his priorities sorted. His answer, and focus, was always rooted in his absolute trust in his friend and teacher, Jesus. He summed that way of living up in Galatians 1:10 NLT: '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's focus on Jesus led him to drop the people-pleasing agenda. We, most likely, will have to do the same at some points of our lives. Being a follower of Jesus means that we will face opposition in some form. Whether it's just someone rolling their eyes at us going to church, or whether it's more serious, it's a fact of Jesus-centred life that not everyone is on board with it all the time.

Example? Our God-inspired life choices. Not going to sleep with our boyfriend/girlfriend before we're married? Dropped our swearing/drinking habits? They're wise, strong decisions but not everyone's going to understand. These changes don't happen because we want to keep others happy; they happen when we keep focused on what God wants.



So what now? Is there something you do (or don't do), because of your faith, that people don't understand? Pray for a moment to have a natural conversation with those who disagree about why you've made that choice in your life.





— SCRIPTURE —

'Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people.' Galatians 1:10 NLT
— SOULFOOD —

Eze 5-9, Matt 15:15-28, Ps 124, Pro 14:21-24