In the letter to the brethren at Colossae, Paul wrote, “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.”

One of the lessons that we learn from this passage is that a Christian is to give his all in everything that he does.  Even in the most difficult situation, the Christian is instructed to serve heartily and with singleness of heart.

In giving these instructions, Paul refers to men-pleasers.  What was a men-pleaser?  Thayer says that the Greek word translated men-pleasers means, “studying to please man” or “courting the favor of men.”  Do we have any of these in the church today?  If so, who are they?  The answer to the first question is a definite yes.  There are some among us who live their lives courting the favor of men.  Let me give you a few examples of such.

• Preachers who want to scratch the ears of brethren.

Paul instructed Timothy to avoid this kind of preaching.  Timothy was told instead to preach the word in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, and exhorting with all longsuffering (2 Timothy 4:2-5).   There are some preachers today who will only take a doctrinal stand when it is popular with the majority of people.  When a controversial issue arises, preachers who are men-pleasers are the ones who wait to see which way the wind is blowing before committing themselves to a position, and then they take the position that seems to be most popular.

There is nothing wrong with taking a position that is popular if it is based on God’s Word.  To take a position, however, just because it is popular, or to avoid being unpopular, is to show a stronger desire to please men than God.  Paul once said, “For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts” (I Thessalonians 2:3-4).  We must always put pleasing God before pleasing man, and preachers willing to do this will declare the whole counsel of God, regardless of how man feels about it (Acts 20:26-27).

• Those who act differently around Christians than they do non-Christians.

We call this hypocrisy, and the ultimate motivation behind it is a desire to impress men.  This is what drives those who are men-pleasers.  They crave impressing others because of an obsession with what others think.  The moment we become more concerned with what men think of us than pleasing God, we fall into the category of men-pleasers.  This will be evident by the way we live our lives.  We will go places we should not go, talk in a way we should not talk, and get involved in conduct we know is contrary to God’s will because we would rather displease God than our earthly friends.  However, when we find ourselves amid Christians, knowing that they desire to do good and are impressed by godliness, as men-pleasers, we will act as godly as we can.  The godliness we demonstrate in such a case is not real.  It is not a demonstration of our respect for God, but only a façade to help us fit in with our peers.

• Those who refuse to preach the gospel because of what others might think.

This is a sensitive point because it reveals that we all might sometimes be men-pleasers.  Who among us has not hesitated to spread the gospel to the lost because we have been afraid of the reaction we might receive?  It is good for us to think about this because it can help us to be better personal workers.  There are several reasons why we sometimes do not engage in evangelistic activity, but a common reason is that we think too much about what men think, and not enough about what God has commanded us to do.  When it comes to winning souls, we should not worry about popularity or the negative reaction we might get.  To allow those kinds of things to interfere with our attempt to win souls is to spend too much time worrying about pleasing men.    Let us not be men-pleasers in this important area, but let us determine to do what we know is right in the eyes of God, taking advantage of every opportunity that comes our way to teach others the gospel.

To live our lives attempting to please men, renders us useless in the kingdom of God.  Whenever we place more emphasis on pleasing men than pleasing God, we cease to be servants of Christ.  Paul once said, “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.”  Men-pleasers become servants of man, not God.  Let us do our best to always remember Who our true Master is.