Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10).

I like to be liked.

Is that so very bad?  

I had a friend once upon a time who seemed to delight in being obnoxious for Christ.

Seriously

He approached every nonbeliever as an enemy combatant.  When he witnessed, it was less like teaching than taunting:

Do you follow Jesus?

No?  Why not?

Don’t you realize that if you die without Christ, you’re going to hell?

What do you mean, you’ll think about it?  You could die tonight!

As I write this, I can hear the edge in his voice.  Still makes me twitch.

Beloved, you are an ambassador, and ambassadors tend to accomplish more if people like them.  So, yeah, it’s good to be liked.

But

Being liked is not your goal.  It’s more of a byproduct of being a Godly person.  If at any point along the journey you have to pick between pleasing people and pleasing God, (and you will), well…

Exactly

Be winsome, Beloved, but not wimpy.  Stand firm for him.

Happy Thursday.