Satan’s Schemes – What Can Mere Mortals Do to Me?
I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? Psalm 56:4 (NLT)
The fear of man can be an overt and very real. We may encounter this through physical or emotional abuse. We may find ourselves in situations that elicit fear of those who threaten us with financial harm. We may fear those who want to rob us of our material possessions. We fear those who want to harm our families or our businesses.
But there is another subtle fear of man that manifests as people-pleasing. When we desire to please others, we are often seeking their approval. We fear what they will say or do if we refrain from pandering to their wishes. We fear their disappointment and even anger if we don’t do what will satisfy them. We may even fear that they won’t love us anymore.
This can happen in every arena of life. It can happen in the family between spouses – a spouse may have a tendency to go beyond what is expected because they fear that if they don’t, they may not be loved or appreciated. They fear that their spouse might stray from the marriage. It can happen between parents and children – a parent has a certain expectation regarding a child’s academic achievements or choice of profession. This causes the child to make choices out of fear of displeasing the parent. It can happen when we allow peer pressure to coerce us into doing things we ordinarily would not do because we fear the opinion and action of friends. We fear being excluded and isolated. It can happen in a church environment where we serve to please others because we fear what others may think of us if we don’t.
Fear & Timidity
In 2 Timothy 1:6-14, Paul admonishes Timothy about his fear of man. He exhorts him to be bold in declaring his faith in Jesus Christ to others. He urges him not to be afraid or ashamed of proclaiming the gospel to those who might judge him or disapprove of what he says. He reminds him that this spiritual gift of evangelising is what he received from the Lord and should exercise it. In verse 7, he says,
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
When we please others in an unhealthy way, we unwittingly worship man and not God. We find our satisfaction in pleasing people, and not in pleasing God. We trust others to give us what only God can give us - our identity and our self-worth. We veer from the path that God has for us. This fear of man leads only to futility. God has given us the power we need to free ourselves from the trap of people-pleasing. He has given us His Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and discernment so that we recognise the symptoms of people-pleasing. His Holy Spirit will lead us along the righteous path He has for us so that we can find His peace and joy. He will do this for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3). For our good and for His glory.
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. Proverbs 29:25
Reflection
Take time to allow Holy Spirit to reveal the areas in your life where you are pleasing people. Ask God to show you how you can be freed from this and find your self-worth in Him alone.
Prayer
Dear Lord, I pray for discernment so that I may see and recognise the areas in my life where I am pleasing others instead of You. Lord, forgive me for doing this. Set me free from pleasing others in an unhealthy way so that I can find my self-worth in You and follow the righteous path that You have for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
