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Pastor's Blog November 11, 2021

"View of God in Romans XXXVI"

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Here's a hot topic nobody likes to talk about: according to Paul, Christians need to focus on "pleasing" everyone else.  I can imagine someone - maybe a lot of people - saying, "Wait a minute, pastor!  I don't think that's a biblical idea!  I believe the Bible tells us that we are only responsible for ourselves and no one else, so I don't see how or why we should spend our time pleasing others."  These sentiments make sense and require a response.  But the fact still remains that Paul does, indeed, affirm our need to please others: "Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.  For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me'" (Romans 15:2-3, NASB). 

Paul states as fact that "each of us is to please his neighbor"; apparently, this is simply a self-evident reality to Paul (and should be to the rest of us).  And the reason it is self-evident is because of how God has shown his character to us in Jesus Christ: "for even Christ did not please Himself."  As far as Paul is concerned, he knows unmistakably that Christians are supposed to please others, because Jesus has shown us in his own life what God is like: God does not please himself, just as Jesus did not please himself.  But what does it mean to please others?  Are we supposed to live our lives the way others want us to - to be whatever someone else wants us to be? 

It appears that Jesus' example is what must guide our understanding of how to "please others."  Quoting Psalm 69:9, Paul claims that Jesus is taking on himself reproaches that are directed at God.  Jesus wants to please God - and what is most pleasing to God is guarding his character, which is why Jesus redirects those reproaches to himself. 

Friends, it is clearly evident that what God wants us to do is to use our lives pleasing others, because this is what Jesus has done and continues to do for God.  And pleasing others does not mean becoming a doormat; rather, it means doing what you can to respect others, guard and take care of them, and be agreeable with others in order to maintain peace and unity in all relationships.  Let us, then, spend our time pleasing each other instead of ourselves.

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