In episode 189, “What God Says About People Pleasing”, Brooke & Faren discuss the meaning of Galatians 1:10 in the Bible. Hear what Paul says to the Galatians about the struggle with trying to please God versus pleasing people. Learn how to pray about it, talk about with others, and live out how this scripture applies to everyday life. The Galatians mini series begins on episode 189 and goes through episode 193 of the Witty & Gritty podcast.
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Read Galatians 1:10
If you’re wanting to grow as a Christian, it’s important to hear from God through His word. Yes, you can hear it from us on this show, but we strongly encourage you to get out your Bible, and read Galatians 1:10. Highlight it, circle the important words, jot notes out in the margins. In this part of the episode, we discuss why Paul was a little fired up sending this letter to the churches of Galatia. Here’s the verse we’re discussing this week:
“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”
Galatians 1:10
Can you sense Paul’s attitude when he says “obviously” at the beginning of the sentence? He’s making the major statement of it’s more important to seek God’s approval instead of the people of the world. This is where we can get into the nitty gritty of people pleasing and selfishness. Gut check: Are you trying to please people or please God?
Praying Over This Verse
The question stated right above is certainly a great prayer and journal prompt. We challenge you to take a moment today and just think on and pray on that question. Is making people happy taking precidence over doing what God is wanting us to do? Many of us out there may even be struggling with people pleasing and don’t even know it. If you feel like you’re on that nonstop hamster wheel of constantly doing for others, we encourage you to pause and reflect.
If you’re exhausted from that hustle, you may be struggling with this. On the other end, you may be self serving, so just take a moment and ask God to reveal that to you. Find out where you are on the continuum of pleasing people versus pleasing God. Then, ask God to show you where you can chip away at becoming better at seeking to honor Him first. You can ask, “Am I doing this for my own gain or for God’s glory?”
Talking with Community
Biblical community is vital to grow yourself spiritually. If you’ve gotten caught up in people pleasing or self serving, odds are it’s happening to others too. Feelings hurt? You’ve got to talk about it. If you’ve wronged someone, there’s a confession piece on your end that needs to be addressed. If you’re struggling with how to have these conversations we give you a list of things you can be praying for below.
Throughout this episode, we circle back to praying this verse over the conversations you may have in the future. You may need to set better boundaries, and just thinking about that conversation makes your stomach hurt. When you’re having these tough conversations, here are some things you can be praying for:
- peace in the uncomfortable moments
- calm emotions and tone in confrontation
- wisdom for the right words to come
- bravery and confidence in the conversation
It’s not too late to circle back to a conversation. Pray and seek God’s guidance on it. It’s okay to table a conversation, revisit when emotions have calmed down and heads are cleared.
Telling Your Kids About Verse 1:10
As Christians, God gives us things to be in charge of, lead, or protect. This counts as people you are around. Your kids, coworkers, or whoever you have any influence over, these skills can be conveyed to them. We go over several examples of how this looks in real life, so be sure to scroll back up and press play to hear the episode. Here’s a glance:
- Rephrase and say it back
- Teach perspective and empathy
- Model good delivery and tone
We walk you through each of those tactics on the podcast episode, and are happy to help walk you through specific situations. We also bring up the classic quote, “What is popular isn’t always right, what is right isn’t always popular.” This is such a vital concept when kids start heading to school and hanging around their peers more. Let’s teach our kids to do the right thing versus what the world wants.
We hope you enjoyed episode 189, “What God Says About People Pleasing”, with our read, pray, talk, tell insight. Now it’s up to you to work through the Bible chapter discussed, pray about this verse using the prompts given, have biblical community around this verse, and go point others to Christ with the tips we give. Remember, when you read, pray, talk, tell consistently, you’ll grow your faith in God more deeply. Tune in next week to hear another breakdown of a Bible verse!
Want help memorizing scripture? Scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email where it says “GET YOUR FREE GUIDE.” We’ll email you our 12 Methods to Memorizing Scripture, and it’s full of ideas that will help you and the ones you love remember Bible verses.
Links From the Show
- Galatians Mini Series
- Daily Audio Bible
- Grit Mini Series
- Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps, and Timelines
