Who Are We Seeking Approval From?
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10
By telling this story, I am going to make a fool of myself (again), but here I go. I was a sophomore in high school and liked a guy that I had been best friends with for years.
He called me one morning and asked if I wanted to go play golf with him and two of his buddies. They were looking for a fourth. Now, before I go any further, let me tell you something first. I am an athlete. But I am NOT a golfer. I mean, I owned my own clubs but that was about the extent of my golfing expertise. You get the picture. Needless to say, I agreed.
When we got to the first hole, there were people standing around everywhere! And by people, I mean golfers. The country club was hosting a ProAm tournament that morning. Just. My. Luck.
Hundreds of people standing around waiting on their tournament to begin, with nothing to do but watch us tee off. Being the gentleman that he was, my friend told me to go first. I knew I didn’t want to hit a weak girlie shot with everyone watching, so I swung the club with all my might.
Do you see where I am heading with this? Yeah. Not only did I MISS the ball completely, but I swung so hard I did a 360 and landed flat on my back! I was on the first hole, in front of hundreds of golfers! And in front of the guy I was trying to impress the most! It was a day I will never forget.
Have you ever tried really hard to impress others? Have you ever looked to others for your approval? I bet you have, because the truth is that we can all get lured in that trap. The question is from whom? Boys? Teachers? Parents? The popular group? The coach? And although I am sure that they are all fine people, God is the ONLY one we should seek to please.
He alone. Galatians tells us that if we are trying to please people, we are not servants of Christ! Wow! God loves us no matter what and He approves of us simply because we are His. There is no need to keep striving to perform for others! Instead, all we have to do is rest in Him. He accepts us JUST AS WE ARE.