I have a confession. Sometimes I care too much about what people think of me. Sometimes I can be too much of a people-pleaser. There. I admitted it. Can you relate? Sometimes I want people to like me so much, that my desire to please them becomes exhausting. I call people-pleasing a prison because when we try so hard to earn another's acceptance, we are living behind a cage of what others think of us. It's a prison that we don't even realize we've walked into. Maybe we dress a certain way so that we fit in with all the other popular girls at school or church. Maybe we become quiet about certain things around certain people so they don't think we're "odd." Maybe we go certain places with some people that we would never normally go because all we want is to have a group to belong with. Or maybe we hide pieces of ourselves with certain groups because we just want them to like us. All of those things become exhausting. And here's why: Living for the approval of others is not what we were created for, so people-pleasing will always drain us of more than we have. That is when the prison doors close and we're stuck there, not really sure how to make it out or not. Well, if I talk about this or that they'll think I'm weird. Well, if I tell them I don't want to do that they'll stop hanging out with me. Well, if I didn't dress like them I wouldn't belong with them. On and on we reason with ourselves, trying to come up with good excuses for why we should stay trapped in a prison when the door is not locked. Listen close so you're sure to get this, friend: If you allow the approval of others to control your behavior, and ultimately your life, you will miss out on the life God has for you. If you're living for the approval of the world and other people, then you cannot be living for the approval of God, because He is so different from the world. Living for God will make you stand out from others and it'll even make some people hate you (John 15:18). You can't be both. You can't be a people-pleaser and a God-pleaser. Galatians 1:10 says this: "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." This is hard, isn't it? It's hard to admit that we've become prisoners to people-pleasing. It's hard to admit that we can care too much about what others think of us...too much that we sometimes compromise the approval of God to gain the approval of people. Friend, people's opinions change faster than the wind changes direction. You can't keep up. You were made to please God, to live a life that honors Him and brings a smile to His face. He is the One who will never change and His opinion of you and love for you will never, ever change. So who cares what the others think? If you're living for Him and you're pleasing Him, you're doing what matters most. Keep your chin up. Start being genuine and being you. Make decisions that are hard and that stand you apart from the crowd, so that you can honor Him. Step out of that prison you've been living in as you try so hard to keep up with the others to gain their approval. Stop living as a people-pleaser prisoner. He has so much more for you. Come on. Let's step into freedom and be God-pleaser daughters and sons. 9/13/2018 02:03:33 pm
Thank you for writing this, Bella, everyone needs to read this! :)
Bella Morganthal
9/20/2018 01:51:48 pm
Thank you, Liv! :)
Joanna L
9/17/2018 04:50:10 pm
Thank you for the encouragement! :D
Bella Morganthal
9/20/2018 01:52:11 pm
Thanks for reading, Joanna! <3
Jessica M
9/17/2018 07:45:41 pm
I definitely have struggled with this at times! This was so well-written and full of God’s wisdom. It’s like His voice can be heard through this post. Awesome!
Bella Morganthal
9/20/2018 01:52:46 pm
Thank you so much, Jessica! Praise God! Your comment was so encouraging <3 Comments are closed.
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