Please (700) (aresko from airo = through the idea of raising up, elevating or exciting emotion - not everyone agrees ) originally meant to make peace, to reconcile someone, to be well disposed to someone. It came to mean to be satisfied with, to take pleasure in and then to take a pleasant attitude toward someone. In short it means to cause someone to be pleased with someone or something or to be pleasing to or acceptable to. Aresko can sometimes mean to strive to please to accommodate one’s self to the opinions desires and interests of others. To please means to give or be the source of satisfaction, pleasure or contentment to another. The present tense of aresko in 1 Thes 4:1 calls for this to be one's continual practice or lifestyle. Earlier Paul reminded the converts that they spoke forth the gospel not as pleasing men but God Who examines our hearts (see note 1 Thessalonians 2:4) Hiebert comments that the believers goal should be to... live to please God. Such an aim for the Christian's endeavor is the logical outcome of his love for his Lord. It marks the service of freedom and gladness that characterizes the believer who has been released from the bondage of the law and has entered into the perfect law of Christian liberty (compare to use of aresko in Gal 1:10). Such a life will assure the fulfillment of the prayer for blamelessness in holiness at Christ's return (see note 1 Thessalonians 3:13). (Ibid) Several lexicons make the point that aresko almost takes on the meaning of to serve in some contexts (for this sense see 1 Thes 2:4, Ro 15:1, 3, see especially the discussion below regarding the use of aresko in 1Cor 10:33). In light of this association, it is not surprising that aresko is found in ancient inscriptions to people who have served their fellow citizens and conveys the sense of service and obedience that was pleasing. Aresko is the root of the related verb euaresteo (eu = well, good + aresko = please) which is notable because euaresteo is used several times in the Septuagint (LXX) to translate the Hebrew word for walk. God clearly associates one's walk with being pleasing to Him. In light of that principle, note the names of the following OT men who walked in a manner so as to please Him! May their tribe increase! Genesis 5:22 Then Enoch walked (LXX = euaresteo = was well-pleasing to God) with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. Comment: William MacDonald in his introductory comments on chapter 4 has some interesting thoughts in regard to Enoch and how he might relate to this chapter... Chapter 4 opens with a plea to walk in holiness and thus to please God, and closes with the taking up of the saints. Paul was probably thinking of Enoch when he wrote this. Notice the similarity: (1) Enoch walked with God (Gen. 5:24a); (2) Enoch pleased God (Heb 11:5b); and (3) Enoch was taken up (Gen. 5:24b; Heb 11:5a). The apostle commends the believers for their practical holiness, but urges them to advance to new levels of accomplishment. Holiness is a process, not an achievement. (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos) Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked (LXX = euaresteo = was well-pleasing to God) with God; and he was not, for God took him. Comment: In Hebrews 11:5-note the Septuagint of Ge 5:24 is quoted. To please God, we must walk with Him in the light of His Word. See also Heb 11:6 -note) It follows that... To please God is to walk with Him To walk with God is to please Him Genesis 6:9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked LXX = euaresteo = was well-pleasing to God) with God. Genesis 17:1 Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me (LXX = euaresteo = be well pleasing before Me), and be blameless. NIDNTT notes that aresko is... Attested from Homer onwards, it denotes the pleasure which men or the gods derive from something. From it are derived the adjectives. arestos, pleasant, and euarestos, pleasing, content (often attested in inscriptions). The noun areskeia, pleasure, grace, is attested from Aristotle onwards. Formations peculiar to the LXX are euaresteo, find pleasure, be content... In Josephus aresko is found equally of God (it pleased God to make David king, Ant. 6, 8, 1) as of men (King Hyrcanus will do everything that pleases God, Ant. 13, 10, 5). (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) TDNT writes that aresko... implies the establishment of a positive relationship between two factors and therefore “to make peace” or “to reconcile.” From the original legal sphere the term passed into the aesthetic in the sense of “to please” someone with such nuances as a. “to be well disposed,” b. “to take a pleasant attitude,” and c. “to please.” Aresko is used 17 times in the NT... Matthew 14:6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. Mark 6:22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you." Acts 6:5 And the statement found approval ("to please in the sight of someone" = to be acceptable to them) with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmeand Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. Romans 8:8 (note) and those who are in the flesh cannot (absolutely excludes the possibility that they can) please God. Romans 15:1 (note) Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. 15:3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me." 1 Corinthians 7:32 But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; 1 Corinthians 7:33 but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 1 Corinthians 10:33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. (Comment: Here aresko means that Paul is seeking to accommodate himself to each one without discrimination in order to win as many as possible to Christ. Paul however is not a "pleaser" in the sense of the flatterer who simply approves of everything and never raises an objection. And so aresko needs to be understood in the context of his being Christ's slave as in Gal 1:10, and thus rendering service to Christ. As Christ's slave, he also renders service to others regardless of the cost to himself. And thus again we see the meaning of aresko overlap between please and service. In secular Greek aresko is often found in contexts describing slavery since "the slaves purpose is to please the master.") Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (note) but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:15 (note) who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, 1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you may excel still more. 2Timothy 2:4 (note) No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Aresko is used 37 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ge 19:8; 20:15; 34:18; 41:37; Lev. 10:20; Num. 22:34; 23:27; 36:6; Deut. 1:23; 23:16; Jos. 9:25; 22:30, 33; 24:15; Jdg. 21:14; 2 Sam. 3:19, 36; 18:4; 1 Ki. 3:10; 9:12; 12:24; 21:2; 2 Chr. 30:4; Est. 1:21; 2:4, 9; 5:13f; Job 31:10; Ps. 69:31; Prov. 12:21; 24:18; Isa. 59:15; Jer. 18:4; Dan. 4:2, 27; 6:1; Mal. 3:4) Summarizing the above passages on the relationship between one's walk and being pleasing, we note first that one sure way to not walk pleasing to God is to be in the flesh (this term describes an unbeliever - believers can act "fleshly" but are no longer truly "in the flesh) (see note Ro 8:8). A good model for a pleasing walk is to walk selflessly as did Jesus (see notes Romans 15:1; 15:2; 15:3) conducting ourselves as bondservants of the Lord (Gal 1:10), and continually seeking to please God knowing that He examines our hearts (see note 1 Thes 2:4). Finally, as believers we should walk in a way that does not entangle us in every day affairs of the world and should instead seek to please the one who enlisted us as His soldiers (see note 2Timothy 2:4) Pleasing God has to do with our what we set our mind on! Be careful where you allow your thoughts to wander. Every believer potentially has God's power to control their thought life or at least to take ungodly thoughts captive (see 2Cor 10:3-5). JUST AS YOU ACTUALLY DO WALK: kathos kai peripateite, (2PPAI): Referring to a believer's conduct as a walk is apropos for Christianity was originally called “The Way” (cf. Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22; 18:25—26). One's walk speaks of his or her abiding lifestyle. The saints initial response in repentance and faith must be followed by continuing obedience and perseverance. Keathley explains that... The Christian life is compared to walking. Walking becomes a visual aid to teach us how to live. By means of walking we move from one sphere to another; we seek to carry out certain responsibilities at work, at home, in the church, and in society. We do many things, some good and some not so good. But walking also means taking one step at a time, and with each step, while one foot is off the ground as we move forward, we are susceptible to being knocked off balance, to stumbling, or stepping into trouble. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12) Paul loves to give praise where it is due. Indeed they were not just "talking the walk" but actually were "walking the talk" yet Paul requests and exhorts them to press on even more toward the goal. The point is that in the spiritual walk we cannot "rest on our laurels" but we must continually running with endurance the race that is set before each of us...our endurance being a product of a mindset of continually looking away from those things that would distract us and looking to our Lord Jesus (see notes Hebrews 12:1; Hebrews 12:2) Who blazed the path for us and reached the goal. (see notes Hebrews 2:10, 5:8, 5:9). The Lutheran commentator Lenski remarks that this opening exhortation is psychologically perfect. It acknowledges all that the Thessalonians have hitherto achieved, and makes this the ground for achieving still more. It in no manner discourages the Thessalonians; it encourages them in the strongest manner. THAT YOU MAY EXCEL STILL MORE: hina perisseuete (1PPAS) mallon: (10; Job 17:9; Psalms 92:14; Proverbs 4:18; John 15:2; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Philippians 1:9; 3:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2Peter 1:5-10; 3:18) Literally this reads "that you may be abounding the more". That (hina) expresses the purpose of the call of a pleasing walk. "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/1thessalonians_41-2.htm#please