Ephesians 6:6
6 Not [me] with [kata] eyeservice, [ophthalmodouleia] as [hos] menpleasers; [anthropareskos] but [alla] as [hos] the servants [doulos] of
Christ, [Christos] doing [poieo] the will [thelema] of God [theos] from [ek] the heart; [psuche] KJV-Interlinear
6 not by way of eyeservice, as
men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. NASB
There are two perspectives of viewing others in all
of creation.
First, there is Gods view, and God looks on the
heart, or to the very core of ones essence and can see everything hidden and
the ture nature of the individual.
The second view is that of creatures. And whether man or angel, the deepest that anyone
can view in another is only on the surface or the outer appearance. No person can know the inner secret thoughts,
unless someone reveals their inner secrets in an honest fashion to another.
Man looks on the outward, but God looks on the
inward.
So, man or this world, has nothing whatsoever to do
with your life, either now or in the future.
The world can only attempt to influence you and perhaps deceive you into
some failed course, but you have to go along with that deceptive course. And unfortunately the vast majority follows
the worlds influence. Most even participate
in that deception and their own demise.
People look on the outward, and so people are
easily misled or deceived by appearances.
So too, people use this approach in life in order to get ahead. They live their life based on their
acceptance by others, or by fooling others.
That means people are slaves to the opinions of
others, or are slaves to peer pressure, or are slaves to the standards set by
others. This is why people yield to
office politics, why kids yield to peer pressures. And whether you are in industry, or in government,
or in unions, or in some sort of culture, there is no shortage of peer or
worldly pressure points that will force you to comply with their standards.
So, being men pleasers or pursuing life with eye
service is living your life by the standards set by others, or just keeping up
with others.
This means that you do not set or live by your own
standards or principles.
But, God has a set of standards that are
truth. And those standards are rejected
by the world, and when you comply with Gods standards, then the world will turn
against you. You are ostracized or
laughed at, or thought of as a fool. The
majority will see you as the fool and that can be a difficult barrier for many
folks to live with, especially if it affects your livelihood. Most when given the choice between a paycheck
and principles, will choose for the paycheck.
But, it is God who controls history. It is God who determines your course in life,
even despite your failures. It is God,
who will determine and establish your eternal life.
These things the world cannot control.
Gods plan for your life is infinitely greater than
anything that the world could ever do for you, even if you lived for
ten-thousand years in this world.
God has a set of standards that make you
independent from the thinking of the world, and autonomous in your own self
direction.
In the spiritual life, you have more freedom of
action, more security, more independence, and more opportunity than the world can
ever provide.
But, and this is very big but, you have to learn
how to gain that inner power and confidence, before you can use it.
And that comes from a committed life to your daily
study of Bible doctrine.
