Pleasing Men or God?

Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (KJV).”

Versus

Romans 15:2 “Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. (KJV).”
And…
1 Corinthians 10:33 “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved (KJV).”

Is there a contradiction?

Obviously, Paul was very concerned with the Galatia church members who were “being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ (Gal. 1:7/NLT).” Paul was so serious about this that he said in Galatians 1:8-9, ”Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed. 9 I will say it again: If anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God’s curse fall upon that person (NLT).”

Paul’s point is that in order to please men, the gospel would have to be watered down, twisted and manipulated and in order to gain favor with men. In other words, he would have to tell people what they wanted to hear instead of telling people what the hard but loving truth was, just as Jesus did. So, to make his point clear about pleasing men, Paul cursed anyone, including himself, who preached a different gospel other than what the Apostles taught. By this he says in Galatians 1:10, “Obviously, I’m not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant (NLT).” Paul is addressing the subject of the gospel in Galatians 1:10.

Versus

Romans 15:2 “Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. (KJV).” Paul is addressing the subject of criticism here. Romans 15:1 (which is the beginning of the chapter) says, “We may know that these things make no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of those who think these things are wrong (NLT).” What are “these things” that Paul is talking about? Well, if you go back to the previous chapter of Romans 14, we would see that Paul is addressing the topic of criticizing others for not believing in the same things you believe in.

An example of this criticism is the letter of Romans 14:15-16, in which Paul says, “ I know and am perfectly sure on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. 15 And if another Christian is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. 16 Then you will not be condemned for doing something you know is all right (NLT).” Thus, we have here Paul referring to criticism. We should not criticize but have the right attitude in order to win the hearts of your neighbor and build them up in faith in Christ.

Romans 14:18-19 sums it up perfectly, “If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God. And other people will approve of you, too. 19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up (NLT).”

Moreover, in 1 Corinthians 10:33 the Apostle Paul states, “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved (KJV).” Is Paul referring to pleasing men by not criticizing them over trivial matters? Yes.

Now, lets look in 1 Corinthians 10:27-33 at the example Paul gives, “ If someone who isn’t a Christian asks you home for dinner, go ahead; accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you and don’t ask any questions about it. Your conscience should not be bothered by this. 28 But suppose someone warns you that this meat has been offered to an idol. Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. 29 It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person. Now, why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? 30 If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it? 31 Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. 33 That is the plan I follow, too. I try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what I like or what is best for me, but what is best for them so they may be saved (NLT).”

What can we conclude here? That Paul only pleases men in the sense of not offending them in trivial matters concerning food or other things that cause them to stumble or lose faith. However, we should not try to please men in the sense of going against what Jesus taught and the truth of the gospel.

There is no contradiction.