God is more pleased with who you are than what you do

Most of the time, New Year’s resolutions don’t work. Why? Because usually we are focused on what we should do and not on who we should become. Jesus introduces the “Be-attitudes” – a call to be, not just to do (Matthew 5:3-12).

God is far more interested in our character than in our resume! (1.Samuel 16:7, Rom 12:2, Gal 5:22-23) 

Who we are will determine what we do. Our achievements will fade, but our character will remain. God does not reward achievements, but He rewards our faithfulness in what we did with what we were given like it is portrait in the Bible story of the talents. God is not after what we have achieved, but who we have become in the process. 

Without the right “being”, “doing” becomes meaningless. There is always a danger of doing without being, like Salomon who had wealth, wisdom, power but his heart drifted away from God. Or Saul, who had the throne but lacked a heart after God, which led to his downfall. The pharisees were religiously accomplished, fasting twice a week, tithing, and Jesus called them whitewashed tombs. But God calls us a temple. He doesn’t just want us to focus on the external, but on the internal.

God is far more interested in our character than in our resume Share on X

We need to shift from “Doing Goals” to “Being Goals”.

Instead of: “Loose 50 pounds.”

Try: “Become someone who values their health, exercises regularly, eats well, and honors God with their body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

If our focus is to lose weight, we will jump on the 21 day fast even though we don’t like fasting, just because it helps us to loose weight. We will do all sorts of compromises only to realize that we gain it all back. That proves that new years resolutions usually don’t work. This demonstrates that our goal is wrong. Our goal should not be to loose 50 pounds, but to become a healthy person. Healthy people will loose weight and exercise. 

Achieving our goals without becoming the person whom God wants us to become will make us a person who can’t keep what we got. That is why they will find us back when we lose 50 pounds, because we have not changed who we are.

Aim to Please God

Very often our goal becomes to reach the potential that God gave us so we can reach the most amount of people for God. It sounds noble, but if this is our goal, we will always be achievement driven. In that case we will continue to “do” and thus we tend to sacrifice our physical health, our mental health and our families for it. 

Our goal should never be to reach our potential even if it is for God; our goal should be to become a person that pleases God. We want to be fruitful and not successful. Success comes from us working. Fruitfulness comes from our relationship with God.(Col 1:10)

Enoch, before he was taking into heaven, was known as a person who pleased God.

Even before Jesus did any miracles God said that “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17).

Our main questions should be: Do we please God? Is what I do right now pleasing God?

Stop aiming to low. It is not enough to be a person God is “just ok” with. Become a person that pleases God. We can’t please God without faith, but we won’t please Him without fully walking closely with Him, (Hebrews 11:6)

If we want to please God, we need to have faith and trust God and we need to walk with God, as Enoch did.

Spend time with God every day

We all have our secret room where we can find out what pleases God. Only in an intimate relationship with God can we find out if He is pleased with us. When we walk with God, we become less and God becomes more in us.

What about our goals? If we take our eyes off of “doing” something and focus our eyes on being pleasing to God, He will add His grace to accomplish what we couldn’t in our wildest dreams. Don’t become obsessed with what you achieve. Obsessively focus on becoming a person God is pleased with, (Ecclesiastes 7:26, Proverbs 16:7, Deuteronomy 12:28). 

If you face a situation, rather than asking God if He is ok with it, ask Him if He is pleased with it. My aim in life is to be well pleasing to GOD! 

Other Focus Shifts

In Relationships

Instead of :”Find the perfect spouse”.

Try: ”Become someone who is loving, patient, and Christlike in relationships, preparing to be a godly spouse.” (Ephesians 5:25, Proverbs 18:22)

Instead of raising our expectation, we need to raise our preparation. Become the person we want to attract. We attract like. We attract not our expectation, we attract our character.

Instead of: “Have a perfect marriage.”

Try: ”Become someone who is committed loving, serving, and growing with their spouse, building a marriage that honors God.” (Ephesians 5:33)

Instead of: “Raise well-behaved kids.”

Try: ”Become a parent who models faith, integrity, and love, raising children who know and follow God.” (Proverbs 22:6, Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

In Career and Work

Instead of: “I want to be rich.”

Try: ”Become someone who works diligently, stewards resources wisely, gives generously, and loves God more than money.” (Matthew 6:24, Proverbs 10:4)

Instead of: “I want to read the Bible in a year.”

Try: ”Become someone who loves God’s Word and lives by it.” 

Instead of: “I want to pray 30 min a day.”

Try: ”Become someone who encounters God daily and seeks Him first in every decision.”

Instead of: “I want to reach the world for Christ.”

Try: ”Become someone who faithfully shares the Gospel, disciples others, and lives a live that reflects Jesus daily.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Instead of: “I want to have a million subscribers.”

Try: “Become someone who consistently creates content that glorifies God, edifies believers, and stays within my lane.” (Colossians 3:17)

Instead of: “I want to write a bestseller book.”

Try: “Become a writer who faithfully communicates God’s truth and leaves a lasting impact beyond sales or recognition.”

In Calling and Ministry

Instead of: “I want to have a big church.”

Try: “Become a Shepard who faithfully teaches, disciples, handcars for people, building a spiritually healthy church that honors God.” (Acts 20:28)

Instead of: “I want to be famous in ministry.”

Try: “Become a humble servant who prioritizes obedience to God over recognition, seeking His approval rather than man’s applause” (Galatians 1:10)

Instead of: “I want to be used by God in a big way.”

Try: “ Become someone who is faithful in the small things, available for God’s work, and willing to serve wherever He calls.” (Luke 16:10)

Watch The Full Sermon Here: