One often misunderstood phrase is the simple statement ‘I want to please God.’ Is this ok? Should I have this desire? Is God not pleased with me already? Do I go in and out of acceptability? Confusion!
In English we can look at “please” in two ways – either from the perspective of an agent, or from the one receiving the action. If my aim is to please God, then the issue could be my attitude (desiring to please) or the issue could be the receiver’s attitude (God’s pleased-ness). This is a huge distinction. Let’s look at these two options in light of Paul’s statements.
Option 1: It is about God’s attitude. If Paul was saying that he is worried that God will not be pleased with him, and is concerned about God’s displeasure, that would mean that God’s pleasure is based on whatever Paul did in any particular situation. Depending on things like how much Bible reading you did, or whether you avoided sin today, God might be displeased with you or pleased with you… if this is what Paul is referring to, then “I want to please God” would have an implied question: “did I?”
Option 2: It is about Paul’s attitude. On the other hand, if Paul is focused on his own heart’s desire, then it is regardless of what God’s state is. Paul could be saying — I am so excited by what God has done for me, I now have this incredible desire inside to please God. (God might be already pleased… God might not be pleased… Paul in this sense is talking about himself, not about God’s pleasedness).
Do you see the difference? In reality, option 1 goes pretty strongly against the Gospel. The proclamation of the good news is that there has been a great exchange: my sin on Christ, Christ’s righteousness on me. I get the attitude of God in Matthew 3:17—“this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” – and Jesus gets the wrath on sin that was rightly due me (that’s called propitiation).
So… Option 2 is the best way to think about these verses. And if that is true, we would expect that the believer would never be said to be in God’s displeasure. That’s the case… and further, there are statements about unbelievers not pleasing God. Romans 8:8, for example, says that “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” 1 Corinthians 10:5 says of unbelieving Israelites that “God was not pleased” with them. That makes great sense… because you have to be in Jesus to please God, and then you please him all the time (in a God-oriented sense).
But what about the actual verses in Paul? Good question, let’s take a look:
1 Thessalonians 2:4: “We speak, not to please man, but to please God”
Colossians 1:9-10 “… we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will… so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully desiring to please him…”
1 Corinthians 7:32 “The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5:9 “we make it our aim to please him.”
Galatians 1:10 “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?”
These (and a few others) all refer to man’s heart… the believer’s desire to please. This desire to please God is often contrasted with the desire to please man. It is all about the changed motivation of the believer, from self to God.
In Paul’s heart was a desire to please God, and he wanted his fellow believers to have that desire too. His actions were guided by a desire to be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser. This is a wonderful desire that I pray, in the Spirit, we all have.
But may we never think that God who has clothed us with the alien righteousness of Christ and united us through death into the life of Jesus might ever look with displeasure on us. Paul’s statements about his attitude and his prayers for others to have a similar attitude do not reflect an uncertainty about his acceptability before God. Rather he reflects the transformation that the Holy Spirit brings, where our hearts desire to do the things that are pleasing to God… just as we are already pleasing to him in Christ.
So… may you increasingly find in your heart a desire to please God, which is a fruit of the Spirit within you, and is aimed at a God who is already hugely pleased and has accepted you in Christ.