So, who do you reason you have to please today? Is it a boss, a peer, your spouse, your kids, your neighbor, an IRS auditor, a customer, students, yourself?
Trying to please another person, especially an unhappy one, can be like trying to please a scrooge on a bad day. Nothing ever seems to work.
Fears loom like, what if they don’t like what I do? What if they think I’m doing it wrong? What if they get mad? What if they don’t care?
Getting along with other people and finding common ground to work together is a good thing, but spending one’s life in fear of whether your efforts will meet with disapproval or approval is unhealthy and debilitating.
There’s a better way.
Live to please God!
When you please God, your efforts to help others are automatically approved. God just loves you and loves you and loves you for all the good you do, like the sun shines unconditionally over the earth. When you offer the sacrifices of self to God, there is never rejection, criticism or disparagement. There is heavenly rejoicing. And that’s what is most important in the long run.
Your neighbor might not always appreciate the good you do, understand why you do it, or even like what you do. Jesus faced resistance to his good deeds everywhere he went. But their rejection is not your terror to fear. It’s their opportunity to grow. You might need to make adjustments in your approach to them and how you work with them, but the leading question will not be, “How can I please them?” It will be, “How can I please God in my relationship to them?”
To please God is to express wisdom and intelligence, understanding and patience, compassion and goodwill, generosity and unselfishness. God is always pleased with divine Love’s qualities expressed. And there is great reward is living true to your spiritual individuality. You will grow, and others will be blessed around you, whether they see it or not.
But the point being, others don’t always appreciate our spiritual individuality expressed! They might be under the influence of ego and pride, self-righteousness and prejudice, selfishness and stinginess, neglect and apathy. If we try to please these joy-sucking and hope-killing attitudes of the carnal mind, we’re doomed. We’ll never succeed. And we are naïve for even trying.
The better way is to please God first, take the love we gain from God to our relationships with others, and work for healing.
But let God be the final judge of how well you’re doing.
Thy soul, upborne on wisdom’s wings,
In brighter morn will find
Life hath a higher recompense
Than just to please mankind.
~ Mary Baker Eddy
From her poem, “To my absent brother”
Evan, I can’t believe how spot on your post is. Have been struggling with this very issue over the past while and I just felt a great relief when I read the words ‘Please God’. Yes, that lifts it from the mortal where I can’t seem to make headway and am delighted you lifted me today with this.
Thank you so much for being mentally alert to those needs which happen to be mine, but are the same for many I am sure.
Oh my gosh!
I’m with the above comments!
I’ve been butting heads with the same kind of issue for sometime and had come to the point of throwing up my hands and walking away. And, worse, could feel attitudes of prejudice trying to make a home in my thought.
This is incredibly helpful.
🙂
I’m with the above comments, too. This is very simple but very powerful! Thank you so much! How easy it seems to get tied up with “personality” and trying to make another personality happy. Our only relation is with God. From Him eminates all good, love, compassion, patience, generosity. We can only BE the Christ presence. That alone touches all upon whom our thought rests. Thank you so much for such clear and insightful ideas.
Sandy
Well you’ve gone and done it again! Spot on as one of the comments reads. Thank you for this wonderful insight and “permission” to just please God! The rest will follow and we will have the strength, love and compassion to face and put down those influences (no the people) that seem to grip our human relationships.
Hi Evan – your blogs are the gift that just keeps giving! I am so deeply grateful for all your words of kindness and wisdom – all solidly based on our dear Leader’s revelation.
Thank you so very much!!
Patty