Are You a People-Pleaser or a God-Pleaser?

My choir sang "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift at our spring concert earlier in June.

For the most part, the song itself was okay. There were a few mild curse words in the speaking part, but I didn't say those.

And then...we learned that there was going to be dancing. Worse, my chorus director was letting students come up with the dancing. If you know what kind of song "Shake It Off" is, you can probably imagine what the dancing they came up with looked like. Not okay.

The dancing wasn't something I could just inconspicuously not participate in, like the language. So the next morning before class started, I went to my chorus director's office and told him that I wasn't comfortable with some of the dance moves being put in.

He agreed with me, saying that it needed to be toned down a bit. I walked out of there feeling glad that I hadn't avoided the awkwardness and had stood up for things. It had been easier than I expected, for which I was thankful. But even if it hadn't been, I would still have felt better for having done the right thing.

We didn't end up dancing, because we ran out of time to put it together. But I had still learned something valuable--standing up for what you believe is right trumps going along with the crowd, every time.

Yes, it can be awkward. The problem may not always be solved as easily as mine was. But no matter how awkward it is, you have to stand up for what's right.

Because life isn't about pleasing people. It's about pleasing God.

Life isn't about meeting the world's standards. It's about meeting God's standards.

Life isn't about avoiding awkwardness. It's about sharing the truth.

So the next time you're faced with a situation where you're being asked to do something wrong, think through how you can stand up for the truth in the face of darkness.

We are called to be lights of the world; if you hide your faith, how can you brighten the darkness?

Have you ever been faced with an awkward situation like mine? How did you handle it? How can you handle them in the future? Tell me in a comment!