Pleasing Men

There was an element of displeasure from a pastor on the article I wrote about my visit to his church, “You write some unflattering comments…I suppose you are writing from the truth of what you experience.” When I looked at the flipside of his comment it became obvious he expected me to use flattery when reporting on his congregation. Paul puts such worldly attitudes in their proper perspective, “On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else” (1 Thes 2:4-6 NIV).