Well, the best emails we get are questions that put concrete words to what otherwise floats

in the back of our minds as sort of an abstract question that we can't really put our finger

on.

Here's a question today about whether being popular and well-liked or crucial to our

gospel witness and it comes from a listener named Jacob.

Pastor John, am I wrong if people around me don't like me?

Because being unliked by others make me a bad representative of Christ.

We can't be people pleasers all the time or we will be pushovers and at what point has

our seeking to be accepted by people, compromised our faithfulness to God.

Pastor John, what would you say to Jacob?

I think what might be helpful to do in answer to Jacob's question is to illustrate for

him how from scriptures he might go about answering his own question.

And I hope in doing it this way really a hundred questions of this nature and lots of

natures might be answered in the sense that people will realize that all John Piper

does to get ready for these little ten minute talks is to open my Bible and find some

scriptures that come close to relating to the issue and think about them and then put

my thoughts down.

Frankly, I think most people who listen to a P.J., that's a particular kind of people,

to do this if they were encouraged actually to work at it, so I'm doing, I'm encouraging

you.

You could do this, you could have your own little APJ or APP or whatever.

I'd like to empower you to do that, so just watch now.

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