Peer pressure is real. The desire to please man has led many of God’s children astray over the years. While this is especially a problem with young Christians, it is by no means limited to them. Christians of all ages are sometimes tempted to do what the crowd wants instead of what God wants. Moses warned the Israelites, who were surrounded by people who served false gods, not to follow the crowd.
Exodus 23:2 (NKJV)
2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil…
Peter and the apostles serve as good examples for us to follow. When they were brought before the Sanhedrin, the greatest court in the Jewish land, they were reminded by them that they had charged them not to teach in the name of Jesus. Here was their response.
Acts 5:29 (ESV)
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Who will you obey? Will you give in to the desire to please man? Paul knew that if he did that, it would render him useless as a servant of Christ.
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 reminds us that whoever we obey becomes our master in life.
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?
Peter and the apostles obeyed God because that is what they purposed in their hearts to do. It did not matter how intimidated the Sanhedrin was, obeying God was more important to them than obeying man. This must be our mentality as well.
What real reward is there in pleasing man? In some cases, there may be some temporary gratification, maybe even, at least to some extent, financial benefit, but it is all transitory. As soon as you stop pleasing man, he will turn on you. That is where servitude comes into play. You become a servant, not only to the one you are trying to please, but to your own obsession to please others.
Doesn’t the desire to please God lead to the same thing? Yes, it does. We are all servants of someone or something, but to be a servant of God is the greatest honor of life, and it leads to eternal life. While serving man only has temporary rewards, serving God will benefit you now and in the life to come. Let us all be like Moses and choose to serve God rather than pursue the fleeting pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:23-26).
Peter and the other apostles answered the Sanhedrin without hesitation because their minds were made up. If it comes down to pleasing God or man, God is going to win every time. They realized that who we obey in this life will determine where we spend the next.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things