”For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)
Who doesn’t like to be liked? We can so much want to be liked that we can do things we shouldn’t do. We crave approval and fear displeasing people. Some can spot this vulnerability a mile away and take advantage of it. Men-pleasers are easily manipulated.
To be a servant of the Lord, our desire to please God must be greater than any need to be liked by man. In fact, we must be willing for men to hate us for His Name’s sake; to cast out our name as evil, and want nothing to do with us. If we have not armed ourselves with this mind: to suffer rejection and reproach for following Him and speaking His truth, we cannot be His servant.
Obedience to God will necessarily bring upon us the displeasure of those who are not walking with Him. Count the cost. You will have to lose the smiling approval of man if one day you are to hear from your Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”