Seeking Approval
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)
One of the wonderful phrases we hear during another wonderful election cycle is “approval ratings.” The constant search for approval pervades life at every level. What is the engagement of a recent email campaign? How many people liked my post? Did anyone say “thank you” for how I served on Sunday? The wayward child whose dress is loud and who loudly proclaims that “they don’t care what people think” spends all his time with people who look just like him. Even the older man who wastes away his final years in isolation, not caring if anyone calls, spends all his day wondering why the phone doesn’t ring. Why? He desperately wants approval. Coming to our senses requires that we first come to realize our need for approval.
Herein lies the great danger of approval. Approval is always sought from another. None of us live to ourselves, nor die to ourselves. We live and we die for the approval of another. The question is “who are we trying to please?” Pleasing man will always displease Christ. Man wants to hear of a half-Savior who saves them in and with their sin; Christ wants to tell of a whole Savior who saves men from their sin. Man wants to hear of a Savior who needs some help; Christ wants to tell of saving the helpless. Man wants his share of glory; Christ wants to tell of His glory and His glory alone. Whose approval is driving our message?
We often couch our speech in the love of our brethren. We do not want to “needlessly offend” our family and friends, forever shutting the door to future opportunities to share the gospel. However, what would happen to our speech if we couched it in the love of Christ? In the desire to not “needlessly offend” His name? When we hear foul language, when we see friends behaving in a dishonorable way, when we witness the name of Christ maligned, a gentle word of rebuke as a servant of Christ for the glory of Christ may be the instrument to bring souls to Christ.
