Daily devotional - February 28, 2007 - Galatians 1:10

Gal. 1:10 - Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Too often we try to be so pleasing to one another that we are not pleasing God. This is not to say that if we are pleasing men then we must not be pleasing God. Being a servant will likely end up with you touching someone in a deep and profound way, and this of course is God's will. What we must guard against is our reasons for doing these things. Jesus described the reward that comes from trying to please men:

• "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

• "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

• "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Trying to please men leads to a short term reward. What is the result of the same actions when trying to please God?

• "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

• "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

• "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

God will reward you! Therefore, we should never be so short sighted so as to pass up on God's long term rewards simply for the praises and plaudits of men today.