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Many of us care deeply about what others think about us. Almost all (if not all) of us seek approval from at least one person. We live in an approval-seeking culture, we just call it by the inverse: \u201ccancel culture\u201d. Whether it be in seeking out attention and likes on social media or in simply hating to feel like we\u2019ve let someone down, the idol of approval has the ability to crush us. As is true with almost every idol, the idol of approval is indicative of a real need. When Jesus was baptized at the beginning of his public ministry, the Spirit of God rested on him like a dove and a voice from heaven declared, \u201cThis is my son, with whom I am well pleased\u201d, showing the reality of the Son\u2019s approval in the eyes of the Father.\xa0 At the basement of the idol of approval is the need to be valuable and acceptable.\xa0 However, many of us live with a core fear and insecurity that we aren\u2019t that acceptable.\xa0 Consequently, the idol of approval trusts in people to deem us acceptable instead of God.

The prophet Jeremiah draws a dichotomy between the person who trusts in man and the person who trusts in the Lord, saying the first is like a dried shrub, and the second is like a tree planted by the water. Living as one who seeks the approval of men will never add up, because we can never know perfectly what others think of us. We can only assume how they feel about us. So we live for approval, while deep down knowing that we are not approvable.\xa0

We have all fallen short, and God knew that. He sent his Son to die for our sake, because he knew we weren\u2019t acceptable.\xa0 When we come to the realization that we are only acceptable because of Jesus' sacrifice we live our lives as a response to God\u2019s approval, not needing it from anyone else. In fact, it\u2019s only when we don\u2019t need the approval of others that we can truly serve them.\xa0 In an increasingly globalized and post christian world, the next decade will be defined by whether the people of God find their approval from God, or to adapt to be nice enough for everyone to approve of them. In light of all of this, is your tree one planted in the desert of others\u2019 approval, or by the stream of God\u2019s approval?