Life On The Playground
I struggled for many years to get out from under the oppression that comes from being a people pleaser. Living to gain the approval or acceptance of the people around me kept me on a perpetual merry-go-round of failure, shame, and guilt. I was never good enough.
Through the process of seeking to know who God is, I discovered that one of the thousands of promises in the Bible addresses this very issue.
Deliver me from the oppression of man; so will I keep Your precepts [hearing, receiving, loving and obeying them].
Psalm 119:134 Amplified
Living to please people is oppressive. It prevents us from discovering who we are and keeps our lives confined to going round and round with the same issues over and over again. It limits every area of our life by keeping us in a small space and sets us up for failure.
I was miserable when I lived trying to please people. I constantly beat myself up over mistakes and refused to try new things. The phrase, "What will people think?" kept me riding the merry-go-round of insecurity. I was stuck in a rut and weighed down by my inability to always get the approval of others. I lived focusing solely on my own weaknesses and poor performance.
Striving to please other imperfect people keeps us floundering precariously on the edge of a spinning merry-go-round. We don't ever get anywhere and we can't receive anything that God has promised us until we get off of it.
Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came to give us life, more life, and life more abundant. There are so many other things to do on the play ground besides the merry-go-round. By choosing to please God instead of people, we allow ourselves the freedom to enjoy them all.
Living to please God brings great joy to our lives. It is how we discover the fun and excitement of living freely on the play ground where our acceptance is not based on our performance but on the attitude of our heart.
Where as people pleasing keeps us trapped on one piece of equipment, living to please God frees us to use, explore, enjoy, and play on every piece of equipment.
If life is a playground, do you really want to stay on one thing the whole time?
Enjoy the gift of life that Jesus has given you. Seek to please God first and stop trying to please people.
Heidirn
Through the process of seeking to know who God is, I discovered that one of the thousands of promises in the Bible addresses this very issue.
Deliver me from the oppression of man; so will I keep Your precepts [hearing, receiving, loving and obeying them].
Psalm 119:134 Amplified
Living to please people is oppressive. It prevents us from discovering who we are and keeps our lives confined to going round and round with the same issues over and over again. It limits every area of our life by keeping us in a small space and sets us up for failure.
I was miserable when I lived trying to please people. I constantly beat myself up over mistakes and refused to try new things. The phrase, "What will people think?" kept me riding the merry-go-round of insecurity. I was stuck in a rut and weighed down by my inability to always get the approval of others. I lived focusing solely on my own weaknesses and poor performance.
Striving to please other imperfect people keeps us floundering precariously on the edge of a spinning merry-go-round. We don't ever get anywhere and we can't receive anything that God has promised us until we get off of it.
Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came to give us life, more life, and life more abundant. There are so many other things to do on the play ground besides the merry-go-round. By choosing to please God instead of people, we allow ourselves the freedom to enjoy them all.
Living to please God brings great joy to our lives. It is how we discover the fun and excitement of living freely on the play ground where our acceptance is not based on our performance but on the attitude of our heart.
Where as people pleasing keeps us trapped on one piece of equipment, living to please God frees us to use, explore, enjoy, and play on every piece of equipment.
If life is a playground, do you really want to stay on one thing the whole time?
Enjoy the gift of life that Jesus has given you. Seek to please God first and stop trying to please people.
Heidirn
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