Whose Approval Are You Seeking?

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?" Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

Do you seek people’s approval like I do? Do you want to please your husband, children, parents and friends? The list could go on and on. If you are pursuing others' approval, why is that? Are you looking for affirmation that you are doing a good job? Are you searching to find your place in the world and if you have others' approval then you know you have worth? Or do you just want people to like you?

I don’t think there's anything wrong with trying to please my husband, children, parents and friends. I believe it all goes wrong when that desire becomes so great that it consumes my life. I want to please my husband, to be a good wife to him, to create a home he wants to come home to, but - I can let that get out of control. It is easy for me to be so consumed in wanting to please others that I forget about what God wants.

My ultimate goal should always be to win God’s approval. If I will focus my time and energy on God and winning his approval, everything else will fall into place. God wants me to love others more than I do myself. God wants me to treat others the way I want to be treated. God wants me to put others first and myself last, to forgive others always, to be kind, loving, gentle, to have patience and self control. If I focus my time on seeking God’s approval and doing those things, then all the rest will follow. Remember that verse, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33 NIV) If I am seeking God first and pursuing Him, it will follow that I will become a wonderful wife, an awesome mother, a loving child to my parents and a great friend. I need to start seeking God and looking for him to say, “well done!”