Paul had just called down the curse of God on false teachers. Twice. And the very next thing out of his mouth is a question about himself: do I seek to please men?

Somebody had called him a people pleaser. In one verse Paul answers the charge, and in answering it he exposes a trap every one of us walks past. The bait is not money. It is not power. The bait is approval.

Is the crowd's approval worth it?

1. The Pull. Why the crowd is so hard to resist. It took down a king and silenced men who believed.
2. The Players. Who the troublers really were, and the scorekeeping world they came out of.
3. The Pretenders. The men crying "people pleaser" were the people pleasers.
4. The Price. Whoever you have to please owns you, and it costs you the truth.
5. The Proof. Paul got out, and his life proves it. Scars, not accolades.
6. The Prize. You already belong to the only One whose approval settles anything.

No. Approval is a trap. You end up the slave of whoever you have to keep happy. In Christ the verdict is already in. You are accepted in the Beloved.

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