If I Could Do One Thing Well

What are those things in life you aim to do well? I mean when you take a step back and think to yourself, “If I could do these things well, I’d consider myself successful, happy, fulfilled.” For me my list would look something like:

Be a loving husband and take care of my wife. Be a good father and raise my girls the absolutely best way I can. Be a good son and brother. Be a good employee. Work hard and have a good reputation at work. Be a good neighbor.

I feel like if I could do these things well, and I’m certainly nowhere close yet, I’ll be content. The bar is set pretty high, but that’s the purpose of a goal right? My faith plays a role in each area and I can’t do any of them right without Christ. But after looking at my list, I removed, “Be a good Christian.” That seems too vague and in no way measurable. I mean, you ask 1,000 people what that would look like and you’ll probably get 1,000 different answers. After working through this week’s lesson in 2 Corinthians 5, I think I have the right one to add to my list: “Be pleasing to Him.”

In verse 5 we see that God prepares us and gives us the Holy Spirit, and in verse 9 we see that we are to be pleasing to Him, and we can because of the work He has already done on our behalf. Do you ever read a verse and find yourself shocked by what it says? Not shocked that the Bible would say that, but shocked by the simplicity and complexity of a sentence. “Be pleasing to Him.” That should be our aim. Simple right? Enormous right? Achievable today. Lifelong pursuit. Concrete. Mysterious.

Those 4 little words could actually replace my whole list. I can’t please Him if I’m not already doing all those other things. No way I can please God by being a poor husband or a distracted, selfish father. It’s definitely not pleasing to Him to be a bum neighbor, lazy employee, or disconnected family member.

So often it seems what’s right and wrong sidetracks us, or what’s allowed and what’s frowned upon. In our church circles we have rules against things that may or may not matter. The bottom line is, are we pleasing to Him? How often does this idea get talked about at church, at home, at work?

This month we’re focusing on the church and, this week specifically, why we should be involved. In short the answer is, because it pleases Him. Should you help in the children’s area? Yeah. Should you teach Sunday School? Yeah. Should you think about new ways to meet needs in your community? Yeah. Should you open your house for a midweek gathering and Bible study? Yeah. Maybe you can’t do all of them right now, but look around you and find that area that needs your help and jump in with both feet. Anytime we’re involved in what God is doing, I can promise you this: it will be pleasing to Him.

Here are a couple questions for you to think about this weekend before you lead your group: What areas in my life aren’t pleasing to Him? How can I move away from those areas and into better ones? How would a goal of pleasing Him impact smaller areas of my life such as home life, work, friends? Do I really want my life to be spent pleasing Him?