¹⁰ For am I now trying to persuade people,^[a] or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 CSB)

I am, to some extent, a people pleaser. In both my business and personal dealings I work hard toward a positive outcome, often, even if it is less than positive for me. Part of this is the pleaser in me and part of it is desiring to care more for others than for myself.

I probably do this out of some sense of trying to be humble, or to keep myself humble. This too, though, can lead to its own form of doing so from a wrong place in God’s eyes. I must continually ask myself if I am creating a false sense of humbleness.

When I flip the script and make it all about Christ and not about me at all, then my motives are no longer focused on me. My pleasing becomes an act of service and my humbleness is offered up to Christ as servitude.

It is very easy to get into the habit of pleasing others to please ourselves. We create a sense of pride out of what we think is our humble nature. When in fact we are just trying to build ourselves up internally for the wrong reason.

To be a servant of Christ is to please Christ first. In doing so the outward extension becomes others.