Seeking Acceptance
Some people live to be accepted by other people. It is how they feel good about themselves. I learned about this in Robert McGee's book, Search For Significance. He exposes this need as one of the traps Satan puts out for us to keep us from really finding God's way for our lives.
People who crave acceptance or approval from others are constantly doing whatever it takes to please other people. They can't stand for someone to be upset with them. It crushes them when they can't please someone, because it makes them feel worthless. They are only getting their self esteem by being able to say they are friends with so many people. However, this always breaks down. The old saying is so true, "You can't please all of the people all of the time." Therefore, these folks are miserable. They feel like failures, because they can't keep everyone happy. This is no way to live, and Satan knows it. That is why he tries to destroy people in this way.
The truth is that we do not have to please people. We have to please God. Now, we can't do that by being good, but we can do it by trusting Christ as our Lord and Savior. Then, we are accepted by God. Think about it. We are accepted by the Lord of the universe, the One who created everything. What could be better than that? To top it off, He loved us so much He died for us, and that is how we can have our sins forgiven to have a relationship with Him. The Lord of all loved us enough to die in our place. When we trust Him, we become His children. We can know that we are important to Him, because He loves us, and He has prepared a place for us in Heaven. Therefore, we do not need to be overly concerned about pleasing people. We need to seek to please Him. Then, everything is alright.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 9-10 and Ephesians 3.
People who crave acceptance or approval from others are constantly doing whatever it takes to please other people. They can't stand for someone to be upset with them. It crushes them when they can't please someone, because it makes them feel worthless. They are only getting their self esteem by being able to say they are friends with so many people. However, this always breaks down. The old saying is so true, "You can't please all of the people all of the time." Therefore, these folks are miserable. They feel like failures, because they can't keep everyone happy. This is no way to live, and Satan knows it. That is why he tries to destroy people in this way.
The truth is that we do not have to please people. We have to please God. Now, we can't do that by being good, but we can do it by trusting Christ as our Lord and Savior. Then, we are accepted by God. Think about it. We are accepted by the Lord of the universe, the One who created everything. What could be better than that? To top it off, He loved us so much He died for us, and that is how we can have our sins forgiven to have a relationship with Him. The Lord of all loved us enough to die in our place. When we trust Him, we become His children. We can know that we are important to Him, because He loves us, and He has prepared a place for us in Heaven. Therefore, we do not need to be overly concerned about pleasing people. We need to seek to please Him. Then, everything is alright.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Isaiah 9-10 and Ephesians 3.