Get Wisdom Proverbs 16:7 People Pleasing Doesn't Work But This Does

Did you know you cannot make everybody happy all the time? You just can’t do it. Our goal should be to please One. According to our verse today, that might even please our enemies. Thanks for joining us for Day 16 of our series #GetWisdom! I must admit, I’ve been trying to make these videos shorter, but I feel like I’m failing. Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying them, and learning from them. Hopefully today’s is a little shorter. Our verse today is Proverbs 16:7. It says, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Again, this is not a promise, but a saying that is typically true of life. This is a tough one. We’re always trying to please somebody, but really we should be focused on trying to please God. As long as He’s happy, I’m good. I spoke at a weekend retreat once, and a girl who was helping lead worship came up to me after a session and asked me if anyone had ever told me they don’t like the way I speak. I said, “Yes, why?” She told me someone had told her they didn’t like they way she leads worship. That’s tough, but I asked her, “Are you leading worship to please those people?” She said, “No, I lead worship to please the LORD.” I told her of an older music album entitled “An Audience of One” and asked her what she thought it meant: that she should be singing for an audience of One: God. It only matters if we are pleasing God. We seek only to please the LORD. People are wishy-washy; we want one thing one minute, and a different thing the next. We have to learn to please the LORD, who is constant. 2 Corinthians 5:9 says, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him.” And Colossians 2:10 says, “So as to walk in a matter worthy of the LORD, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing the knowledge of God.” Paul is praying here for the Colossians, that they would keep their focus on the LORD. Let’s get back to our verse for the day. When we are focused on pleasing the LORD, God will work out great things. When we’re focused on being honest, truthful people of integrity, even if people don’t like us, they’ll respect us. When I was younger, I saw a lot of gang activity in my neighborhood. I wasn’t involved with these people; the only time I’d hang out with them was when they’d pull out the basketball hoop, and I’d play basketball with them. Well, I remember when one of these guys got shot and killed…it was actually on my front lawn. The following morning I walked out to my car, and one of these guys told me he and his friends respected me. I think he was trying to acknowledge that even though I did my own thing, I didn’t run the streets with them, they respected my choices. Even if you don’t like someone, if they have integrity, don’t you respect them? I once saw this quote at a school: “I’d much rather be hated for who I am than to be liked for who I am not.” We so often struggle with trying to fit in with the crowd, but is this worth it if we don’t like ourselves? Is it worth it if we’re not pleasing God? Let’s read our verse of the day one more time. Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways pleasWe’d love to hear from you! "Live for God by connecting faith and life."Download our app to get notified every time we upload new content https://proclaimministries.com/appSupport the ministry https://proclaimministries.com/giveFollow Proclaim Ministries:https://www.facebook.com/proclaimministrieshttps://www.instagram.com/proclaimministries/