Many of us have a past of which we are not very proud. We are not alone in this. Paul, too, admitted the same. There was a time when Paul thought too much of gaining the favor of man, but ever since his confrontation with Jesus on the road to Damascus, and his subsequent conversion in the city, his primary goal was to please his Lord.
Galatians 1:10 (ESV)
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul knew who he was, or more importantly, what he was. He was a servant of Jesus Christ. That was who he belonged to, and, thus, that was who he strove to please in life. To whom do you belong? The truth is, we are all servants of someone, it is just a matter of who. The way we determine who we are serving is by examining what is dictating how we are living our lives. Paul put it like this:
Romans 6:16 (ESV)
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
We are all either servants of sin or obedience. The choice is really between God and the devil. Sin is the tool Satan uses to separate man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Thus, if you are serving sin, you have chosen the devil to be your master. That is a bad choice that leads to disaster. Death is the final destination of a life spent serving sin.
James 1:14-15 (ESV)
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
To follow after obedience is to choose God as your Master. That is a good choice. Paul tells us that it leads to righteousness, that is, a right standing with God, produced by His grace, coupled together with right living. So, the question is, what is dictating how we are living? Is it a desire to please God and serve Him, or are we allowing a desire to sin to dictate how we are living? To whom do we belong? That is the question.
The words of Paul in Galatians 1:10 indicate that there is no middle ground. Since he is dealing with his history at a time when he used to strive to please man, he gives the choice between seeking the approval of God or man. We often find ourselves with the same choice. Too often people choose man over God. Such was the case with some of the Jewish leaders who would not accept Christ because of their desire to be in favor with others.
John 12:42-43 (ESV)
42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
That was the wrong choice dictated by the wrong desire. We must avoid making the same mistake. If we are to be genuine servants of Christ, He is the one we must desire to please. Only then can we say that we truly belong to Him. Let’s choose God, not only over man, but over everything else. Remember, we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
As you wind down for the night, think about these things