Breaking Free from People-Pleasing
Exhausted from trying to make everyone happy and afraid of their disapproval? In this episode, discover how living for an audience of One frees you from the endless trap of people-pleasing and anchors you in God's acceptance alone.
Exhausted from trying to make everyone happy and afraid of their disapproval? In this episode, discover how living for an audience of One frees you from the endless trap of people-pleasing and anchors you in God's acceptance alone.
Have you ever found yourself saying yes when you wanted to say no, just to avoid disappointing someone?
People-pleasing can look like kindness on the outside, but underneath it's often driven by fear, fear of rejection, fear of conflict, fear of what others will think. Over time, that fear becomes exhausting. You twist yourself into knots trying to keep everyone happy, and it's never enough. One group wants you to be more. Another wants you to be less. You lose yourself trying to win approval that constantly shifts.
In this episode, we look at the story of Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae, who spent years trying to please both the mainstream hip-hop world and the evangelical Christian community at the same time. It was draining him. When he started speaking honestly about his struggles, he lost fans on both sides. But at his breaking point, he made a life-changing decision: stop playing the approval game and start living for an audience of One.
Through his story and Galatians 1:10, you'll see that you can't fully serve Christ and live for the approval of people at the same time. The freedom you're looking for isn't in finally getting everyone to like you; it's in letting go of that impossible goal and resting in God's acceptance alone.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
- Why people-pleasing is an exhausting trap that can never be satisfied
- How Galatians 1:10 draws a clear line between living for human approval and serving Christ
- What it looks like to live for an audience of One and find freedom from the fear of disapproval
You'll never be able to please everyone, but you don't have to. God's approval is already yours in Christ.
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L. C. R. C. A. S. L. C. R. C. A. S. A Christian hip-hop
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artist finds himself caught between two worlds, trying to
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please everyone and exhausting himself in the process. L. C. R.
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C. A. S. spent years navigating the mainstream hip-hop community
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and the evangelical Christian world at the same time. For a
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long time, he tried to make both sides happy, and it was draining
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him. When he started speaking honestly about his struggles
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with depression, doubts, and the failures he'd seen in the church
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culture, some Christian audiences rejected him. When his
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music didn't fit the neat Christian radio box, others
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accused him of selling out. He was losing fans on both sides
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and wondering who he was even making music for anymore. Why
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would someone risk alienating both audiences by refusing to
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play the approval game any longer?
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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger, and
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today we're talking about something that quietly exhausts
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so many of us: people-pleasing. In Galatians 1: 10, the Apostle
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Paul says, Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of
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people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not
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be Christ's servant. Paul draws a clear line in that verse: you
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can live for the approval of people, or you can live as
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Christ's servant, but you can't fully do both. At some point,
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serving God will mean disappointing someone, and if
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your deepest need is to be liked, approved of, and accepted by
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everyone, you'll find yourself trapped in an exhausting cycle
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that never ends.
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a little bit more difficult for you. Underneath, it's often
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driven by fear. Fear of rejection, fear of conflict, and
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fear of what others will think. And when that fear runs your
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life, you become a slave to opinions that change constantly.
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think about it. One person wants you to be more bold. Another
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wants you to tone it down. One group wants you to fit their
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expectations. Another criticizes you for the same thing. You can
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spend your whole life trying to keep everyone happy and still
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fail, because people's expectations are often
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contradictory and often shifting. The only way to stay out of that
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trap is to stop living for the crowd and start living for an
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audience of one. When you're anchored in God's approval,
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knowing that in Christ you're already accepted, already loved,
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and already enough, you don't have to chase human validation
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anymore. You're free to obey God, even when it costs you
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popularity. You're free to say no without guilt. And you're
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free to be the one God made you to be without constantly
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performing for applause. Now, that doesn't mean you stop
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caring about people or become callous to their feelings. It
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means you stop letting their opinions be the ultimate
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authority over your life. God's voice becomes louder than the
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crowd's. Paul knew this very well. He was constantly
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criticized by Jewish leaders, by Gentile skeptics, and even other
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Christians. If he had tried to please everyone, he would have
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been paralyzed. Instead, he said, "If pleasing were my goal, I
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would not be Christ's servant." He chose faithfulness to lose
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over popularity. And that's what made his ministry so powerful.
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back to Lecrae. He hit a breaking point and realized he
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couldn't keep living for everyone's approval, because it
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was an endless, exhausting trap. He made a decision. He made a
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decision and made a decision. He made a decision. He made a
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decision. Be faithful to what God had called him to create and
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say, even if it meant losing fans. His album, "All Things
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Work Together," and his memoir, "I Am Restored" reflect that
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journey. He started choosing authenticity over applause and
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trusting God with the outcome. He stopped trying to win two
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crowds and started living for an audience of one. The freedom
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Lecrae found wasn't in finally getting everyone to like him. It
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was in letting go of that impossible goal and resting in
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God's acceptance alone. Maybe you're caught in the same trap
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right now. You're exhausted from trying to keep everyone happy.
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You're afraid to speak up, set boundaries, or be yourself
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because you're terrified of disapproval. You've been
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performing instead of living. This is what I know. You will
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never be able to please everyone, because you don't have to. God's
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approval is already yours in Christ. And when you live from
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that place of security, you're finally free. Here's today's
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challenge. Think of one area of your life where you've been
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driven by the fear of what others think. Maybe it's at work,
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in your family, or at church. Maybe it's online. And ask
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yourself, "Am I making this decision based on faithfulness
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to God, or based on fear of disapproval?" Then, pray
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something like this, "Lord, I want to live for an audience of
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one. I want to live for your approval. Please, free me from
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the trap of people pleasing. Help me to rest in your approval
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and trust with what others think of me." Lord, we confess that
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we've often been more concerned with human approval than with
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yours. We've exhausted ourselves trying to keep everyone happy,
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and we've been afraid to fully follow you because of what
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others might think. Set us free from that trap, and anchor us in
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the truth that we're already accepted in Christ. Give us the
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courage to live for an audience of one. In Jesus' name, amen. If
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this episode encouraged you, would you share it with someone
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who might be stuck in the people-pleasing trap? Just send
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them the link from the show notes. They may need this
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reminder that God's approval is enough. Thanks for joining me
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today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, living for
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an audience of one frees you from the endless trap of seeking
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human approval. Come back next time for more encouragement to
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help you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless,
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and have a great day.
