If you know me at all, you know that I am a big ''people pleaser." I always try to please everyone. I've done this since I can remember. This is what causes my constant phrase, "I'm sorry." But as I have been going through a bible study that is making me very much aware of how big my people pleaser trait is going.
I also have a hard time claiming the forgiveness that God has promised if we confess and believe. I'm realizing that when I let fellow followers of Christ down, I start to somehow feel I have completely let God down. This problem has caused me to take a long time to get over and/or let go of certain relationships I've had in my life that are now over or are not as strong as I once thought they would be.
This is a problem for me. For so long I have equated showing God's love to people and kindness to pleasing everyone. For all those other people pleasers our there, THIS IS NOT AT ALL TRUE.
Jesus did not try to please everyone. He didn't care if everyone wasn't pleased with the way he lived His life. This problem is related to the problem of not being able to say "no," and stick up for myself.
So the question is, by trying to please everyone around you are you really pleasing God? I would have to say, "no." We are called to live a life that doesn't please everyone, but that is in accordance to God's commands and Jesus' life.
These are just some thoughts I've been having. Believe me I'm praying and working on it a lot.
