Tidings for Tuesday
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10
The woman behind the portable cupboard in the store was praising the virtues of the sausages that she was heating in a skillet. As the little slices of sausage sizzled and steamed in the pan, she told of their low fat content, of their gluten free quality, and their marvellous taste. And she stabbed each piece with a toothpick, and lined the little morsels up on a tray, for everybody to take a taste. As people reached for a sample, the woman directed them toward the freezer beside her, where packages of the sausages were stacked and ready. She was very persuasive, and convinced most of the people who took a sample to also take a package. Somewhat reluctantly, the lady next to me took one of the packages. I did not, and mentioned to the lady that I found the sample to be very bland. She admitted that she did too. So, I asked her, why did she pick up a package to buy? ‘Everybody else was,’ she replied. She was letting the pressure of people around her determine if she would buy a product that she was less than delighted with. She is not alone. Many of us buy things, agree with things, support things, that we would reject if nobody else was around. So much of our personalities are made up of doing everything we can to please those around us. We had better ditch that approach when it comes to the things of God!
There is never a reason to be offensive to people when we witness to them. But there is also never a reason to be less than truthful when presenting the Gospel message. Before they can take in the joyful news of salvation, people need to understand that they are sinners and are facing divine judgment. We need to be kind and loving, but we also need to be faithful to the Word of God. Too many pulpits these days are filled with men (and women) who do their very best to tell their congregations what they want to hear. According to our text, that means they are not the servants of Christ.
The Bible was not written to cater to the ideas and desires of sinful men and women. Faithfully it declares the nature of sin and faithfully it warns of judgment, just as faithfully as it portrays the love of God in providing His Son as our Sacrifice for sin. Take note that the Bible is the most popular book in the world, outselling all other books that have ever been printed. That is not to say that we will be popular if we stick to the message of the Book. But we will please God. – Jim MacIntosh