Abiding Faith: Living to please self and other people only leads to displeasing God. If you have to ignore and/or disobey God to have friends, be successful, live the “good” life, etc, then you are worshiping and serving the creation instead of the creator. When you love God you’ll be attracted and drawn to the things that please him AND you will want to reject the things that displease him
Romans 1:21 – 25: 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things,[n] and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Though claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. 24 For this reason, God delivered them to sexual impurity as they followed the lusts[o] of their hearts and dishonored their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged God’s truth for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
The solution simply stated is repent. The power behind the solution is to draw near to God and he will draw near to you. The practical application to the solution is to lay aside the things that weigh you down and the sin that gets us off course and run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto the Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.
The choice is yours. The final determination is God’s.