On this fittingly dark and stormy Black Saturday, I’m sitting with Peter in the long silence between crucifixion and resurrection. Peter had thrice-denied his Savior without so much as a chance to say “I’m sorry” before His precious form was tacked to the tree. Peter was surely mired in a bog of regret until the resurrected Jesus released him.
I’ve always related a bit to Peter. Headstrong. Opinionated. Quick to come to conclusions. Compulsive. A natural leader, even if I’m a little wrong. And I’m quite sure, if I’d stood in Good Friday’s courtyard being questioned about my connection with the Man in chains, I’d have right-quick denied Him, too. Fear of man – which Peter experienced that morning – well, it’s been an ongoing struggle for me. Today, I wonder, just how many times have I dismissed my Savior for the sake of keeping the peace or saving my own skin?
Suddenly, I see people-pleasing as the idolatrous transgression it truly is. Valuing the opinion of man over the opinion of God or obedience to Him – well, this puts us in a precarious place. Just as we may cheat on the Almighty through materialism or appetite, we equally betray our Beloved by letting the applause or dismay of others have undue influence. We allow ordinary people to rule our affections (heart), motives (soul), thoughts (mind) and actions (strength). When we seek to please mere people, we dethrone the one true King.
People pleasing robs us of the very limited resources we possess to praise and worship God!
“Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NLT)
We start with ‘listen’. Or ‘hear’ in some translations.
Why?
We cannot possibly love without first listening. We must listen to learn that He alone is Lord. No other gods before Him. We listen because we cannot obey without first hearing the instructions of the Almighty.
Listening is the first step in loving: God and His people.
In listening, we make room to fall for God. We pay attention to Who He is and what He’s about and we fall in love with Him. This isn’t a little bit of love. It’s not the leftovers at the end of the day, after we’ve gorged ourselves on the opinions and affections of others. No, we feast on His love first and most, and then when we’ve had our fill, we’ve no room to crave for the fickle praise of people.
With our hearts fully satiated by the smorgasbord of God’s presence, we push away from the table ready to share. We give love away freely, as we have received it.
God plainly put these things in order for us, first in the Old Testament and then again in each gospel, so we would be without question, without excuse as to the priority of each day. His list isn’t happenstance, it’s prescribed. The sequence is intentional. Listen. Learn. Love God. Love people. Pursue His heart first and find what we need to love others in Him.
When we figure out the order – listen, learn, love God, love others – when we live it out – we start to turn the key to the Kingdom of God in our own frames. Jesus says as much to teachable teacher who asked the hard questions.
“Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34 NLT)
Lord, please forgive us for all the times we have blithely traded the opinions of others over Your approval. In doing so, we have effectively dethroned You and we are sobered by this truth. Thank You for grace enough and clear instructions. May we live out the greatest commandment with greater commitment. Be Lord over every fiber of our being: heart, soul, mind and strength. May we guard against any attempt at insurrection; internal or external. Help us follow wholeheartedly after You. Grow the Kingdom of God here within our own skin. Amen.
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