Living your Life to Please God First

Living Your Life to Please God First

By Pastor Salvador A. Garcia, Jr.

 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14, NKJV

It’s happened to all of us. At some point, we find ourselves living to please others. Maybe it’s our parents, our teachers, our friends, or our church pastor. We live in a world today where the age old adage: “Aim at something, and you’ll hit something; Aim at nothing, and you'll hit nothing” is true. It definitely pays to live your life with goals in mind, be they educational, relational, career, etc. However, it is possible to live your life with goals in mind that try to please others instead of pleasing God? Is it possible to live our lives in such a way that instead of being a people-pleaser we become a God-pleaser? Can we live our life in such a way that we please God every day of our lives? The answer might surprise you. Read on.

Pleasing God first

I am sure you know of at least one person who is living their life to please others instead of living their life to please God. Maybe you have a friend in school whose parents push him to get straight A grades and will not accept anything less than perfection. Maybe you know of a parent who is pushing his son or daughter to excel in a sport that he or she doesn’t really enjoy. Maybe you know a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse who is living their life to please their significant other instead of living to please God. At any given moment in our life, we are either living to please ourselves, to please others, or to please God.  Too many of us live our lives to please everyone else, and in the end it leaves us feeling lonely, burnout, and unsatisfied. Is there a difference you ask? The answer is yes. You see, if you live your life to please yourself or others without living your life to please God, chances are you may not be living your life to please God at all. However, when you live your life to please God first and foremost, God will allow you to exceed the expectations that everyone (including yourself) has ever had about you.

Pleasing God first in your education

If you live your life to please God first, He will give you wisdom and make you smarter that your teachers. Don’t believe me? Here is the Bible verses that says so:

“I have more understanding than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep Your precepts.”

Psalm 119:99-100

When we live our lives to please God in our education then God promises to make us wise by giving us more understanding than all of our teachers. Isn't that great, especially when it comes to testing time! You know all the answers to every question your teacher will give you! Amen! What an amazing promise.

Doing well in school and getting good grades is important. In fact, the better your grades are the more success you may have in college and graduate school. When you put God first in your education and you work hard, then God will give you success! In fact,the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Plan to reach the top of the summit in your educational goals, to determine to work hard and give your 110% effort. Then, God will give you understanding and wisdom beyond your teachers and professors! Invest the time and energy now, so that you can reap the rewards later. Study hard now, so that you can fulfill the plans God has for your life later. Otherwise, if you only have fun now, you'll work hard the rest of your life. Education and good grades is important so put God first in your education and He will help you to reach the top and excel!

Pleasing God first in your relationships

What would happen if you lived you life to please God even in your dating and relationships? How would that change the way you date currently? For one, you would be more concerned about becoming the best available person for someone else to date, than you looking for the best available person to date. Your focus and attention would shift drastically. No longer would you be “desperate” to meet and get involved with anyone who is available (i.e., “I need to be in a relationship with someone else at any give moment”), but you would focus on preparing yourself to be the best spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.

Living to please God first in the area of relationships and dating means you follow what God has already specifically spoken to you in the Bible. What are some things that God has already spoken regarding relationships in the Bible? First, God has said that if you are a Christian and follow Jesus Christ, then you should only date people who are Christian and follow Christ. If you want to be safe rather than sorry, follow what God has said. Don’t try to change it or justify it by saying, “Oh, she is getting Bible studies.” Instead just be faithful and follow what God has said. Follow the popular Christian slogan: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” Second, God has said that sex is meant for marriage, not while you are dating. Let me remind you that sex is a broad term that includes oral sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, and foreplay. Some people think that only vaginal sex is sex. In fact, they will say something like, "Oh, we are both still “virgins”, and have never really had any sex", when all the while they have been having oral sex and foreplay that falls into the “yes you did have sex” category! If you want to please God first when it comes to dating and relationships, then purpose not to have any sex until you get married with the person who is your husband and wife. Be like the young couple who were sexually abstinent during the time they dated.  On their wedding day they arrived at the wedding alter, the preacher said “you may now kiss the bride!” When they kissed, it was the first time they had ever kissed while they dated! Okay! Maybe you will not take it that far, but you get the idea. Save sex for the honeymoon. Live your dating life in order to please God.

Pleasing God first by fulfilling Your God-given purpose

So far so good, huh? If you live your life to please God first, you will excel in your grades and education (remember Psalm 119:99) and prosper in you dating life. But there is a third reason why it pays to live your life to please God first rather than living your life to please others. Discovering your true purpose in life is that third reason. Today, our society suffers from a condition that I will call “I don’t know what I am here on this earth for”. That is why today there is an empty feeling that fills people that has led to all sorts of philosophical ideas like existentialism (Give your life it’s own purpose), hedonism (The purpose of life to please yourself), Machiavellianism (Use any means to achieve your purpose), etc. The truth is that when you live your life to please others instead of to please God you will end up feeling empty, wasted, and without satisfaction. You will not know, “why God put you on this earth for.” At best you will only be able to speculate instead of being able to know without a shadow of a doubt why God put you on this earth for. The amazing thing about living your life to please God only is that when you live your life to please God first, God will automatically lead you to discover your God given purpose in life.

Your purpose in life does not have anything to do with your career, your education, where you live, or your race. It has to do with living your life in such a way that every single day you are living and doing exactly what God intends for you to do. Imagine if God had to hand-select someone for an important mission here on earth. If you were living your life to please God, your name would be on the top of the list of candidates. Wow! God would hand select you for that special mission! So go for it. What are you waiting for? The benefits far outweigh the costs. Living your life to please others only and God last will only end in failure: Failed relationships, failed college degrees, and failed careers. However, living your life to please God first will end in satisfaction, discovering a life of purpose, receiving true wisdom and education, and preparing yourself to be the best boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse for someone else in the near future. Your decision today can mark the beginning of a new chapter in your life. Go ahead, turn the page and allow God to begin writing a new chapter in your life.

- Live your life today and every day to please God first -