Whose Opinion Governs Your Life? By Vahe Sargsyan

What matters more to you: pleasing God or pleasing people?

St. Paul asks this question directly: “For 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” (Galatians 1:10).

For many Christians, spiritual life feels distant and optional. Work, money, comfort, reputation, and daily responsibilities seem more real. Prayer, fasting, repentance, and church life are often pushed aside. God is acknowledged, but He is not always allowed to govern our choices.

Yet spiritual reality is not less real than the physical world. A person may deny God, the soul, sin, grace, or judgment. That denial does not make them disappear. Scripture tells us, “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

For a Christian, spiritual life is not a hobby. It is the way we learn to live before God. We pray, repent, fast, confess our sins, receive the Holy Eucharist, read Scripture, and take part in the life of the Church. These are not empty duties. They train us to see what truly matters.

The more we care about God, the more we care about how we stand before Him. The more we care about status, appearance, and approval, the more we become controlled by people. This is why St. Paul says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

We must therefore examine our fears. What are we afraid of losing? Whose rejection troubles us most? Are we more disturbed by a damaged reputation or by a guilty conscience? Are we afraid of appearing too religious, too humble, too forgiving, or too serious about our faith?

Many people hide their beliefs to avoid embarrassment. They stay silent when Christianity is mocked. They join in behavior they know is wrong. They change themselves to gain acceptance. Human approval becomes their master.

But human approval is never secure. People may praise us today and reject us tomorrow. When their opinion controls us, we are forced to perform. We keep changing ourselves to meet their expectations, and slowly we lose the truth of who we are.

The Christian must learn to live before God. St. Paul writes, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:9–10).

This should shape our daily conduct. We should tell the truth even when a lie would protect us. We should be kind even when cruelty would impress others. We should be patient even when anger would make us appear strong. We should care when indifference would be easier. We should remain humble even when pride would win attention.