Who have you been trying to please?

1. 44

   jacobkuttytaposted 11 years ago

   Who have you been trying to please?
   
   How has your concern with pleasing this person kept you from standing up for what you know is true?

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2. 73

   Heather63posted 11 years ago

   You name it! I've had the tendency toward people-pleasing for as long as I can remember. Starting with my dad, it's transfered to friends and later my husband. In some cases I did things to be a part of the group, like sneaking into a bar underage - I didn't really want to and was nervous the whole time. Other times I didn't voice my opinion about something, even when I felt strongly, because it might put me at odds with someone I cared about. Finally now, with God's grace, I'm weaning myself off of that behavior and becoming my own person. But it's a tough habit to break!

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3. 81

   John Sarkisposted 11 years ago

   Ditto...I think it's all related to our childhood and the way our parents raised us.  My Mom has been a people pleaser all of her life; she gives in to her family on anything they ask her and won't stand up to them.  Being her first born, she's passed those bad traits on to me.  What I've found out in life is that standing up to an individual won't cause them to like you more, in fact, sometimes its counterintuitive and the individual now has more reasons to badmouth you.  The film saga "Meet the Parent's" is a great example of what I'm referring to.  All said, if you like an individual, then you should cater to them and try your best to make them happy!

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4. 82

   prayerpowerposted 11 years ago

   At one time, I tried to please everyone.  Now I'm focused on pleasing God and my family.

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5. 0

   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   God. If I can do what is pleasing to God, Then everything else will fall into place.

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6. 64

   A K Turnerposted 11 years ago

   How long have you got? Work colleagues, friends, family, people who are submitting stories to my magazine. It was only after a while I realised that actually being a people pleaser is a pointless exercise, I am just gonna do the best I can and they can either like it or lump it. Family may think their opinions matter, but to me there is only one opinion that counts, God's.  Great question dude!

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   Nathaniel Ballewposted 11 years ago

   I used to attempt to please people. I was reading the Bible and realized Jesus was not concerned with pleasing people. His mission was to teach them, and to seek and save the lost. Many things that Jesus did were not pleasing to the world. So now I attempt to be pleasing with him. I want to accomplish his goals for my life, that will make life worth while.

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8. 64

   intouchposted 11 years ago

   My goal in Life is to please my Heavenly Father who has done so much for me. He sacrificed His life and I am now giving Him honor   in  my daily walk with Him. Once again, I'm not perfect, just forgiven. Next in line is my husband, then my job, then myself! I'm so blessed, daily.

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9. 71

   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   The only person I try to please is me. My parents are not entirely happy with my degree choice of psychology and that is fine. My partner is happy with my education and choices and doesn't care which path I take as long as there are plenty of job options.

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10. 53

    jamesrkposted 11 years ago

    We must always be ready to share the Gospel with others at the risk of displeasing that person. The important thing is to "let your speech be with grace". Never talk down to a non-believer, but reach out in love and compassion.

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11. 61

    Shepherd 48posted 11 years ago

    Good question. Right away the scripture comes to mind, "Without faith it's impossible to please Him." [Heb. 11:6] I've been in the same place as the rest of you. I've tried to please those around me. At my age I've been "burned" and disappointed enough times to realize it won't work. I must also admit getting caught up in trying to keep myself pleased - also a fruitless venture. Lately I'm coming to the conclusion that even trying to please God can get you off course. What I mean is that we can spend a lot of energy trying to please God in the sense that we want to impress Him so He'll do for us whatever it is we need doing. We only feel "right" with Him if we've been behaving ourselves and doing lots of "good works". We must see ourselves acceptable to God because of Jesus' death, burial & resurrection - not because we've been good little children of God. Once we know we're acceptable, THEN we can set about living a life that pleases Him.

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12. 72

    unitifyposted 11 years ago

    "You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time. But you can't please all of the people all of the time." My choice is to live my life with love, honesty and integrity.  And if I screw up I forgive myself and move on as God forgives me.

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