# 259 Pleasing Men Rather Than God!

The Book of Genesis

Day 259

Ge 28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram.  8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac.  9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.”

Esau. I think we all know people like Esau. In fact most of us have likely acted impulsively at one time or another in our lives. We do things without thinking them all the way through. Our actions, (good or bad) have consequences.

In this case, Esau sees that Jacob leaving home to find a bride, (that was not a Canaanite) pleased his dad. Esau wants to please his dad and so he takes an immediate, (but not thoroughly thought out step) of marrying someone from Ishmael’s family.  “Hey at least she’s not a Canaanite.!” Isaac and Rebekah had made it plain that they were not thrilled with Esau’s other two wives. But all Esau has done, is sinned again against God as he takes on a third wife. (Polygamy is a sin!) Poor Esau, he keeps trying to do things that he thinks will please his earthly father, but he has no desire to please his heavenly Father!

I think we are guilty of this same mistake as we do things in order to fit in. An example might be those times we use crass language in order to “fit in with the boys.” I’ve got news for us guys (and gals) in this matter, we are sinners enough to “fit in with the boys, (or girls) ” we don’t need to foul up our language to prove it!

Eph 4:29  says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

And in 1Pe 1:16 we read, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Remember, in the matter of pleasing others, we must always seek to please God first!  Paul, writing in Ga 1:10 says, “or do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

Let’s slow down our impulsive tendencies and seek first to please God in all we say and do.