Westside Story Newspaper – Online The News of The Empire – Sharing the Quest for Excellence
By Lou Coleman-Yeboah
(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Oh, I know I’m right about it because [John 12:43] says, “For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”
Listen, “If you seek the approval of any man, you cannot please God!” [Galatians 1:10]. As Christians, our chief concern should be to gain God’s approval. We should not seek the approval of men, even of our family and friends, but of God Himself. I tell you, the same misplaced desire for approval is why Jeremiah rebuked Israel: “Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” [Jeremiah 2:12–13]. Craving human approval is a cistern that cannot hold water. Why chase the approval of man? There is a tyranny and bondage in living for man’s approval. “Instead of living in bondage, craving the approval of everyone around us, the Bible calls us to live for the approval of God.
I tell you, we need to be like Jesus – he got his validation from God – he pressed on despite the lack of approval from others. Besides, the Scriptures call us again and again not to live for the expectations of man, but for the satisfaction of God. Tell me, can anything compare to having the smile of God’s approval? Having God’s approval is the only thing worth living for. Let’s be motivated by seeking approval – but not the approval of men or the approval of our culture – but the approval of God. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. [1 Thessalonians 2:4].
May we intentionally seek God, his will and his pleasure above all others, and may God continually minister his truths to us – Amen.
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” [Colossians 1:9-10]
