What pleases God?
Give that question some thought, and while you think about it I have a confession to make.
This is not something I talk a lot about. And some of you might even be surprised to learn this about me. But it’s true. It’s something I really struggle with.
My guess is, a lot of people struggle with this. You might even struggle with this. Some of the biggest fights in my marriage have been because of this problem that I struggle with and sometimes, I really just don’t know what to do. I should probably just come on out and say it. Here it is…
I am a people pleaser!
Whew! It feels good to get that off my chest. This is a real problem for me.
Sometimes, I care too much about what other people think. I’m always looking for ways to make everybody happy. I’m always looking for a win-win solution. I don’t like to let people down. I have a hard time saying, “NO,” to people. I am a people pleaser. I am! And this gets me into trouble all the time!
It never ceases to amaze me, but sometimes, the harder I try to make everyone happy, the more everyone ends up disappointed and… here’s the real kicker, mad at ME!
People Pleasers at Christmas
As much as I love Christmas, Christmas is the ultimate nightmare for people pleasers.
There’s just no way to buy the perfect gift for everyone. There’s no way to make everyone in the extended family happy because everyone wants you at their house on Christmas Day. What they really want are the grandkids! But there’s just no way to make everyone happy.
Is it really the most wonderful time of the year?
How many of you are people pleasers, too?
To the best of your ability, you try to make the people around you happy. You look for win/win solutions. You never say, “NO” to anyone. You don’t like to be called a people pleaser, but… you’re a people pleaser.
Not everyone is a people pleaser, but a lot of us are. Even if we don’t try to please everyone, there are certain people we like to try and please!
But here’s the problem… When we focus on pleasing people, we often feel like a failure. It’s mission impossible. What we experience is not peace, it’s disappointment, heartbreak, and often times regret.
What do you want, Mary?
In 1946, one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time was produced and people watch it every year. If you haven’t watched it yet, chances are you probably will before this year is over. It’s called, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
You remember what George Bailey told Mary, the girl of his dreams, at the beginning of the movie?
“What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.”
George Bailey
I think we all love the movie because, in one way or another, we all identify with George Bailey.
We all know what it’s like to sacrifice our hopes and dreams for the sake of others. We all know what it’s like to say, “YES,” to others even when that means saying, “NO,” to ourselves.
And we all know what it’s like to wonder if our life really matters. If we’ve made any difference at all. If anyone really cares about us even though we feel like we’ve tried over and over to help those around us.
George Bailey tried as hard as he could to help others, care for others, do everything he could to please others, but he got to such a low point.
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the angels are talking about George Bailey.
Senior Angel: “A man down on Earth needs our help.”
It’s a wonderful life
Clarence: “Splendid. Is he sick?”
Senior Angel: “No, worse. He’s discouraged.”
God Pleasers
All of George Bailey’s striving to please people, take care of people, it left him with utter disappointment, heartache, and pain.
If you’ve ever felt like this, if you’re a people pleaser who’s been left feeling discouraged, disappointed, broken hearted, and filled with regret, I’ve got good news for you. That desire to PLEASE is a God given desire. It’s something you were created to do. You’ve just aimed that desire to PLEASE in the wrong direction.
You see, we weren’t really created to be people pleasers. We were created to be God pleasers.
But that brings us back to the question…
What pleases God?
The answer to that question is actually found in the Christmas story.
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. – Luke 2.1-7
Born in Humility
If you’re anything like me, you love this part of the story. And for some 2000 years people have marveled at the realization that the God of the Universe was born in the humble town of Bethlehem.
There was no room for Mary and Joseph anywhere in town so they resorted to giving birth in a barn and laying the Son of God in a manger normally used to hold animal feed.
You would think the Son of God would have been born in a royal palace. Or maybe even inside the walls of the majestic Temple. You would have thought he would have been dressed in fine linen from the time of his birth and laid to rest in the best cradle money could buy.
But Jesus, the Son of God, entered the world in compete humility.
AND THEN, THIS HAPPENED…
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
– Luke 2.8-14
So what pleases God?
It pleased God to come to earth in this way. To a humble town, in a humble manger, announced by angels to humble shepherds, in a humble field.
What pleases God? I think the answer to that question is found in the Christmas story. What pleases God is humility.
The angels sang:
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
With whom is God pleased?
God is pleased with a woman named Mary and her soon to be husband from the no name and HUMBLE town of Nazareth… so much so, that he chooses these humble and faithful people to be the parents to His One and Only Son.
God is pleased with a group of unknown and unnamed humble shepherds in an unknown and unnamed field who were doing what they did every night, watching over their sheep… so much so that he chooses these humble and faithful people to be the ones He sends the Angelic choir to announce the birth of His One and Only Son and sing about the night Peace came from heaven to Earth.
“…peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Bethlehem
A few years ago my wife, Alisha, and I were so blessed to get to travel to Israel. While we were there we spent a few hours in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is actually within the Palestinian border, so we had to leave Israel in order to go to Bethlehem.
One of the most meaningful experiences of my life was standing in a place overlooking the Shepherd’s field, a location where it’s entirely possible that the angels appeared to the shepherds announcing the birth of Christ, and I stood before our group and read this story of this announcement from Heaven and the angel’s song.
Near this place is a church called the Church of the Nativity. It’s built over a possible site of the birth of Jesus. No one really knows if this is the location, but… it’s possible.
This church has gone through three stages of development throughout history and that is easily seen by looking at the entrance to the church. Over the centuries, the doorway has gotten progressively smaller.
The first large sixth century opening can be seen by noticing the large, wooden beam that is still embedded in the wall. Later on the Crusaders made a smaller Archway that served as the entrance to the church. Finally, during the Turkish and Ottoman periods, a smaller entrance was formed designed to prevent looters from entering the church with ease.
So if you go there today, to Bethlehem, to the Church of the Nativity, the only way in is through a three foot high doorway.
In order to enter the place where Christ might have been born you have to do so either by bowing down or on your knees. This entrance is called the “Door of Humility.”
Humility
Jesus, the Prince of Peace entered the world in humility, born in a manger, to teach us that what pleases God is: Humility.
In fact, just a few years later, one of the first things Jesus would teach his first disciples is this truth:
“God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.”
– Matthew 5.5
So if you want to know what pleases God, it’s those who are humble. And if you want to know how to find peace on earth, it comes through those who are humble.
You see, there’s an undeniable connection between humility and peace.
Ultimately, George Bailey discovered this, too. When he realized just how much his life mattered, when he realized that it was through his life of humility, through his life of putting other people first, that he… not Mr. Potter… was truly the richest man in town, it changed everything for him.
George Bailey learned something that night that most of us will spend our whole lives trying to figure out.
Those who are humble have Peace on Earth.
Perhaps the LIGHT shines brightest through those who are HUMBLE.
Why? How? Because the Prince of Peace is living inside of them.
The Way of Humility is the Way to Peace
Jesus, who was born in an humble manger, announced to humble shepherds in a humble field, ultimately died on a humble cross. And it was through His humble death on a cross, his humble burial in a borrowed tomb, and through His glorious resurrection on Sunday morning that PEACE fully and finally came to earth.
And now, all of us who know Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our lives and follow His way of humility can know Peace on Earth, because we know Jesus.
May we be humble, may we be willing to follow the way of humility, the way of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. And may He come to earth in and through us.
May His LIGHT shine the brightest through those who are HUMBLE.
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