Accountability is good, but tough!

I struggle with questions asked of me in a situation/conversation where I could be in trouble, when someone is questioning a decision I have made or when I'm being confronted. Let's be honest, who likes to be confronted? No one! And if you do, you probably have other issues.

I hate being confronted because, at my core, I am a people-pleaser. I don't want to let anyone down; rather I want to quiet the rough waters and smooth the ruffled feathers. The good thing is that I know that I am a people-pleaser so I can, and currently am, working on that. I don't think it's inherently sinful to want to please people. But when that pleasing someone gets in the way of pleasing and serving God, then you have problems. So I have to constantly check myself and my motives. Why am I doing this? To please God? To please Man?

Galatians 1:10 is a life verse for me and it always rings loud and true. It says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." There's a battle ground for me...pleasing men or pleasing God.

While I was reading my Daily Walk Bible today I was challenged by Aaron's response to Moses in Exodus 32. Moses had been up on Mt. Sinai for close to six weeks and the people of Israel are wondering, "what's the deal? Where's Moses?" Naturally, but unfortunately, they take matters into their own hands and tell Aaron to solve the situation for them.

"Make us some gods who can lead us. We don't know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt" (Ex. 32:1). Aaron, wanting to please the people (problem #1), obliges..."take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters and bring them to me." Vs. 4 states that "Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf (problem #2, italics mine)." Wallah! Commandments #1& 2 are broken!

I was challenged by how little faith Aaron had in God, and in Moses, and that he so easily acquiesced to the whims and desires of the people. His response to Moses hit me even more. Later in Chapter 32 Moses came down the mountain and he was majorly ticked off! "What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?"

And here's the kicker to Moses interrogation and call to accountability, Aaron said, "you yourself know how evil these people are (shifting blame, see Genesis 3:12) ... so I told them, 'whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.' When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire--and out came this calf (italics are mine)!"

Aaron, you terrible liar you!! One moment you were responsible for molding "it into the shape of a calf" and the next minute it magically happened on its own! It's the fire's fault, it created the calf, not me! Incredible!

And then the Holy Spirit convicted me, "Seth, you do this same thing too! Don't put yourself on a pedestal because when put under pressure by someone's questions you have been known to do the same thing." Yikes! It's a subtle sin, but it is a sin none the less!

So here is to standing up to the questions we face on a daily basis and to not pleasing man, but pleasing God, by giving truthful answers. By God's grace may I, may you, be able to do this!