Daily Devotional: Day 70
“For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’” (Luke 7:33-34, NIV).
You can’t please people. Even Jesus couldn’t. Or rather, he didn’t try. Being human, we feel tempted to make everyone happy as much as we can. This is a constant temptation. But the reality is, you can’t please people. A lot of people work hard to please people, but they end up disappointed when they realize that nothing they do is enough. Jesus himself found out the hard way. Look at today’s Bible text. John the Baptist prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus. According to Jesus, John the Baptist didn’t eat bread; neither did he drink wine. Yet, people found fault with him. They said he was a demon. John’s ministry was as impeccable as it could get. But that wasn’t enough for people.
Then, it was Jesus’ turn. Jesus was more “relatable,” more “cool,” if you want. He hung out with people of diverse backgrounds, rich, poor, sinners, Jews and Gentiles. He ate and drunk with them all. Like John the Baptist, Jesus had a “clean” record. He was caring, compassionate, gentle and forgiving. Yet, the people complained. They said Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard who hung out with sinful people. It’s been about 2000 years, and nothing has changed. People are still people. You can’t please them. You can give them the whole world; they’ll still find fault with you. Therefore, don’t waste your time trying to please people; you’ll never do enough. So what do you do? Simple. Focus on pleasing God; do what you know from the Bible to be right. And live a happy, stress-free life.
Prayer:
Father, let me not seek people’s approval. But in all things, let me seek your glory alone. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
For further study: Numbers 14:1-33
Higher-Self Realities 