Please God Rather Than Man

Dear Children,

Most of us know the story of the Apostle Paul. He wrote many books of the New Testament. Through his letters, we can learn about his thoughts and the things he experienced as he faithfully preached the Gospel. He was put in prison and even stoned because of his faith.

This makes us wonder: Why would a good and faithful Christian like the Apostle Paul be put in prison? Let us look at Galatians 1:10, For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Galatia to remind them that they should not live to please other people. This does not mean that we should deliberately offend others or be unkind to them. But rather, it means that we should not disobey God just because we are afraid that others might not like us.

The Apostle Paul set a wonderful example. He continued to preach God's Word faithfully, even when people opposed him and put him in prison. He chose to obey God rather than please men.

But the greatest example is our Lord Jesus Christ. He always did the will of His Heavenly Father. Even when He knew that people would be unhappy with Him, He did what was right in God's sight. For example, when the people used the temple as a place to buy and sell things, Jesus drove them out because they were dishonouring God's house. His actions angered some people, and many wanted to kill Him.

So, dear children, let us learn not to live just to please others. We should always be kind and loving, but we must never disobey God simply because we want others to like us. Let us seek to please God first, even when doing what is right may cause others to be unhappy with us, because we are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.