Whose Pleasure Should We Seek?

Scripture — 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (NRSV)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.

Devotion

Every now and then, I have a hankering for a Chick-fil-A grilled chicken sandwich. So, I head over to my local Chick-fil-A for a sandwich and a Coke Zero. After ordering, I thank the person behind the cash register. This person always responds with, “My pleasure.” Then, when someone else delivers my meal, and I say “Thanks,” again I hear “My pleasure.”

Instead of the typical “You’re welcome,” Chick-fil-A employees always respond to “Thanks” with “My pleasure.” This practice began 25 years ago, after Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, heard someone in a fancy hotel say “My pleasure” in response to Cathy’s expression of gratitude. Hearing this, Cathy felt special, like he mattered. So, he instructed his employees to start saying “My pleasure” rather than “You’re welcome” in response to the gratitude of guests.

When I first heard “My pleasure” in a Chick-fil-A, I was curious. Why were they saying this? I thought that phrase could sound rather selfish, like, “I’m working here for my pleasure, not yours.” I learned to rightly interpret “My pleasure” as implying “It’s my pleasure to serve you because you’re a person worthy of respect and good service. It’s my pleasure to add to your pleasure.”

I wonder what the Apostle Paul would think if he were to visit a Chick-fil-A restaurant. In 1 Corinthians 10:33, he writes, “I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.” Paul seems to prefer something like “Your pleasure” to “My pleasure.” Similarly, to the Romans, Paul writes, “Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor” (Rom 15:2). Once again, not “My pleasure” but “Your pleasure.” Notice that the pleasure Paul seeks for his neighbor isn’t something trivial or fleshly, but that which edifies the neighbor.

Yet, elsewhere, Paul seems to be critical of any effort to please people. When describing his apostolic ministry to the Thessalonians, he writes, “We speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts” (1 Thes 2:4). Then, in his letter to the Galatians he says, “Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal 1:10). That verse appears to leave little room for any pleasing of humans, whether yourself or those you are serving.

How, therefore, might Paul advise us to answer the question, “Whose pleasure should we seek?” One part of that answer is abundantly clear. Above all, we are to please God. We are to seek God’s pleasure most of all. We do this through actions that glorify God and through hearts that honor and love God.

Yet that’s not all the advice Paul would give us. On the one hand, he would warn us against a self-serving pleasing of others, giving them what they want to hear for the sake of our own gain. On the other hand, Paul would point to his own example of pleasing people for their benefit, not his. In 1 Corinthians 10:33, he pleases “everyone” in the hope that “they may be saved.” Plus, in Romans 15:2, he urges us to “please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.” Once again, the motivation here is selfless.

If we want to glorify God and if we want the best for people, sometimes we will please them, and sometimes we will actually displease them. That’s what happened with Paul and the Galatians. They didn’t approve of his message or his behavior. That’s why he wrote, “Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal 1:10). What matters most is that we live for God’s approval. We are first and foremost servants of Christ, whom we seek to please in all things.

Paul also displeased the Corinthians on more than one occasion. At one point, he paid them what he called a “painful visit” (2 Cor 2:1). Later, he wrote a letter “with many tears” (2:4). This letter “grieved” the Corinthians and made them “sorry” (7:8). Why did Paul write such a displeasing letter? He says it was an expression of “the abundant love that I have for you” (2:4). He sought to get the Corinthians to repent, and that’s exactly what happened. Thus he can write, “Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance, for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us” (7:9). Paul was willing to displease the Christians in Corinth for what he believed to be their good. He wanted them to turn from incorrect beliefs and sinful behavior. Paul sought the best for them even though, at first, this made them unhappy.

In conclusion, it seems that the rightness or wrongness of pleasing people is often more complicated than it might at first seem. Sometimes, we might please people out of a desire for them to experience what is best. At other times, we might displease them in the hope that their displeasure will lead to a positive outcome. When life is particularly complex, we may be unsure whether it’s right to please people or displease them, for their benefit. But, at all times, we can be sure that pleasing God should always be our top priority, always that which we most aspire to do.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: What Is God’s Glory?.