Wednesday ·
Whose Approval We Seek
Scripture: Galatians 1:10
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
Galatians 1:10 KJV
Right after his strong warning, Paul asks a searching question: is he trying to win people’s approval, or God’s? Some in Galatia apparently claimed he softened the message to make it more appealing. Paul’s answer is plain. If pleasing people were his goal, he could not be Christ’s servant.
Before he met Jesus, Paul had plenty of human approval. He was admired, respected, and on the rise. Following Christ cost him much of that. He learned that we can’t fully serve two audiences. Sooner or later, the wish to be liked and the call to be faithful will pull in different directions.
Most of us feel that pull more than we’d admit. We soften the truth to avoid a hard conversation, say yes when we mean no, or measure our worth by how others respond to us. Caring about people is good, Jesus calls us to love them well. But love and people-pleasing aren’t the same thing. Love seeks someone else’s good; people-pleasing seeks our own comfort.
Here’s the freedom tucked inside Paul’s question: in Christ, we already have God’s approval. We don’t need to chase it, and we don’t need to beg for it from anyone else. Before the day gets busy, we might notice one place where fear of others’ opinions has been steering us, and quietly hand it back to the One whose opinion matters most.
Prayer
Lord, I confess how much I want to be liked. Free me from needing the approval of others. Help me love people honestly and serve You faithfully, resting in the truth that in Christ I am already accepted. In Jesus’ name, Amen.