Whose Approval Are You Seeking?
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10
In high school I wanted so badly to be “fashionable.” I wanted to wear trendy clothes and to be noticed because of it.
I was so excited because I had found this really awesome top on a trip and could not wait to wear it. I put together a cute outfit and was ready to rock it at school. I walked in to school that morning and saw my best friend at her locker. She was wearing the same top. The SAME TOP.
I was so upset. I wasn’t set apart or different. I didn’t get noticed as fashionable, only as the girl who matched her best friend that day at school. I was dressing to please people. I wasn’t being a servant of Christ. I was being a servant to myself who ended up looking like someone else.
Maybe this exact instance hasn’t happened to you, but you know exactly what the passage is talking about when it talks about the approval of men. It is great to feel appreciated, noticed, approved of by other people, but that is not being a servant of Christ.
As Christians, as people set free from sin, we are called to be servants of Christ. We are called to live a life pleasing to God that sometimes may not always be pleasing to other people. Think about why you are about to say that comment, or wear that outfit, join that club or team, go to that party, talk to that boy, or any action.
Are you doing it because you want to be seen as a certain type of person or want the approval of a certain group of people? Or are you doing it because that is what Christ would do in that situation?