Who doesn’t want to be approved?
It’s a basic human desire.
The questions then become who do we seek validation from and why do we seek this validation?
These are questions I’ve been grappling with of late…namely because certain people…or I should say a certain person, continues to question the things I do.
I became extremely exasperated and frustrated on Tuesday after ending a day in which I felt like I needed to, once again, justify myself.
I called Super Sis, who is always willing to listen as well as provide much needed Godly advice.
What I came away from her thought-provoking observations was that I am seeking validation.
This is something I have done all of my life…from the time I was left to take care of my sweet sister when we were both wee things to my teenage years when bringing home straight A’s was a mandate.
It is at the root of why I am an overachiever…why the lesson plans for my certification programs were between fifteen and twenty pages long.
The need for validation is why I justify decisions in my classroom to people, or should I say a person, who I do not owe such justification to.
This is also the reason why I will ask my students, “How do you think class went today?” It seems like an innocent question, but it is one that is self-seeking in that I am looking for approval from even the students I serve.
In the process of “explaining myself,” I lose sight of my purpose in life…my purpose as a Christian…glorifying God.
God put His seal of approval on me the moment I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
He did this because of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross…NOT by anything I have done.
That’s what makes God’s approval so much better than any man or woman’s.
Man’s opinions change as often as the direction of the wind.
God’s opinion never changes.
Once loved and accepted, always loved and accepted.
Galatians 1:10
English Standard Version (ESV)
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant[a] of Christ.
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