1 Thessalonians 2

1 Thessalonians 2:4

When Paul is writing praises to the Thessalonians, right in the beginning of chapter two, he reminds them, "But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts".

I think that this verse is such a great reminder that every believer should keep in mind when they are out and about in their daily lives. The beginning of this verse is so important and so vital to us: "but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel". WHAT?! God has approved us and let alone trusted us with the gospel?! Yes! Think about that, God has trusted us with the good news about what Jesus has done. He has approved of this decision. God is trusting us with His word! That blows my mind when I think about it deeply enough. Then the second half of the verse is the reminder and the commission: "so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests out hearts". Paul is telling us that we can't focus on making sure that everyone on this earth is pleased with us. Not everyone in Jerusalem was pleased when Jesus was around talking about how He was the Messiah. So nor will people be happy with us when we share the gospel with them. But, that's not our goal. We don't have to worry about making everyone here happy. What matters is that God is pleased with what we are doing to better His kingdom and give Him glory. That is our end goal.

So what exactly is Paul telling us here? Well, it's right there: it doesn't matter about what people think of us, but how we please God with our actions. Who cares what people think or say about us? In the end none of that is going to matter, so there is no point in stressing out about it now, or ever. We were not brought here or called here to make everyone happy. We are here to share the gospel with people, whether they accept it or not, it's the Truth. That's our end line, to spread the good news, to let people know about Jesus. And if they bash us and slander us, then let them do it. Justice will be brought in the end. Our labels given to us by man have no meaning compared to the titles given to us by God. The key point: our focus shouldn't be on our reputation with others, but on our resemblance of God.