Last week I sat across the examining bed where my 90-year-old Mom waited for the doctor.

After a complete check-up, the nurse came in with a device to measure her eye pressure. A simple procedure that took seconds.

But the results nearly knocked me off my chair.

“Hmmm,” the nurse said, “the pressure in one eye is 54.”

Fifty-four? The normal range is between 15 to 20.

I pulled out my cell and requested transportation to her eye-doctor. 

Hours later, my Mom sat in his examining chair. “Chin here and forehead on the bar please,” he said. “The eye pressure is perfectly fine.”

What happened?

The nurse at the previous doctor’s office used the incorrect device.

How many times have we done the same—use the wrong measuring device? Often, we look to the world to measure our sense of worth. We look at our job to bring fulfillment. We hope that pleasing our family will bring satisfaction. And we trust that pleasing our spouse will bring happiness.

Unaware, we use each of these as the device to measure our sense of contentment and fulfillment.

Why do we do it?

Because we want something in return. We hope the outcome will fill our need for validation.

But do we find it? Hardly. In fact, rather than gratification, disappointment comes instead.

What went wrong? Did we choose to please others before pleasing God?

I invite you to take the test.

Do you fall into these categories?

1. With the best intentions dancing in your heart, do you put your trust in others? Careful because…"Thus says the Lord: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come.'" (Jeremiah 17:5-6a)
2. Does the validation and approval from those around you increase your self-confidence? “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)
3. Are you fearful others will criticize or judge you? “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” (Proverbs 29:25).
4. Are you a people pleaser—eager to do what others want and expect? “for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” (John 12:43).
5. Is pleasing God part of your daily plan? Do you share in Paul’s self-reflection: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

Pleasing God first brings the ultimate pleasure for the heart. Serving others is the sacrifice that brings joy with no expectations in return.

Used with permission by Global Media Outreach from Janet Perez Eckles.  This article was first published on November 23, 2018 at janetperezeckles.com. To watch her life story, click here.