Our Mission Is To Please God

You don’t have to allow yourself to be used by, be an enabler, or be a people pleaser to those around you.

Mark 6:14-29 (New International Version) John the Baptist Beheaded
14King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying,[a] "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him." 15Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago." 16But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!" 17For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. 18For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled[b]; yet he liked to listen to him. 21Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." 24She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered. 25At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
One of the tragedies of this story is that this young girl allowed herself to be the enabler of those who did not have her best interests at heart.
• If you have anything at all going for you, someone will try to use your good fortune, or your good name, or your hard work, or your talent, or your looks, or your money for their own selfish purposes. You don’t have to allow yourself to be used by those around you. You are not an object. People become enablers when they allow their self-esteem to be wrapped up in someone else’s opinion of them. If you don’t want to go through life being an enabler “STOP”. You have to develop an attitude that says, “I have self-worth as I am a human being, and I deserve to be treated with respect.” Enablers try to bargain for love. Decide once and for all that “your purpose is not to please people”; “your purpose is to please God”.
Galatians 1:10 (New International Version)
10Am 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.
• As quoted by Bill Cosby: “I don’t know what the secret to success is, but I know the secret to failure is trying to please everybody.”
A sense of direction is your best weapon. If the daughter of Herodius had a sense of direction in life and if her purpose in life had been to serve God, she never would have listened to such bad advice. She never would have allowed herself to be used in such a dreadful way. People become enablers when they see themselves as second-class human beings. However, when you have a God-given vision about who you are and God-given direction about what you can accomplish, no one can touch you.

If you have a problem with this issue or know someone who is experiencing it, the best way to end it once and for all is to admit you have a problem and seek professional help. Don’t be afraid to tell someone if you are being abused or feel threatened. God gave you a free will and you do not have to succumb to these vicious and outrageous attacks. You are worth so much more to our Heavenly Father God Almighty than to allow yourself to get caught up in this type of bondage.

An abuser does things to please him/herself and doesn’t care if it hurts others. His/her desire is to “control” others. An enabler does things to please others while allowing others to control him/her without thinking about his/herself. His/her desire is to be a people pleaser by pleasing others.

An abuser or an enabler is not discriminatory and can be male or female.