"The Innovative Marketplace Christian - Blog Hosted by Rick Hubbell"

Main Post of the Week #1 (Week of May31-June6)

Gal 1:10

10 Am I saying this now to win the approval of people or God? Am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant.

Please quickly review the 4 Scenarios from the previous post…(just scroll down quick) I know - this blog takes a little effort - yet for those who invest it produces a wonderful return…

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Back? Hi Again.

Do you identify with any of these situations? Bear in mind that each of these scenarios on their own is merely an indicator of the symptoms of an issue being present, not the underlying cause. Let me give a quick example of the difference between symptoms and underlying causes.

How much good does it really do to put a band-aid on a recurrent skin condition from a food allergy. Will that keep it from coming back? The skin condition is a symptom and until you identify and remove the food causing the allergy (the underlying cause), the symptoms will persist as often as you eat the food. Such is the difference between symptoms and underlying causes.

Finding complete freedom from this condition can be a difficult journey but worth every step.

Expectations of Others

Key Point: The driving (sometimes subconscious) desire to consistently meet the expectations of others has a deceptive way of justifying its ascent to jump over and in front of God’s approval… not necessarily all of the time, but frequently.

When allowed to assume this position, this creates… a major problem. It doesn’t start out that obvious. In fact, some part of you may even be offended if someone suggests that you have anything other than God’s approval first on your list. Every good Christian does, right?

The worst part is, even when we sense there may be an issue in this area, our culture and even well meaning Christians promote a myriad of solutions that don’t evict the real culprit.

The Influence of Culture

This force is deeply at work in American Culture. We need to be cool, hip and ‘with it’. We need to look good while we are doing it. It’s on TV shows, in all forms of media & print, begging you to be a part. Most of us are. People around us are always reinforcing it because they are under the influence themselves. If you look right, dress right, act right, smell right, talk right, work right, have the right job, say the right things at the right times, have the right friends at the right social functions in the right part of town, and always act in accordance with what is cool, you can be part of the club. Some got it, some don’t.

But Hold On A Minute Christians…

Hold it! Before we explore that side of the equation too far, am I saying that we are better off being irrelevant, frumpy types that shun every form of style, culture, and excellence and that God requires this from the truly spiritual? Absolutely not.

What I’m saying is its worth taking a deeper look at why we do some of the things we do.

Appearances Can Be Tricky

The difficulty in recognizing this phenomenon is that outwardly it can appear that people under the influence and those who aren’t, look similar. The crucial point is how and why they appear a certain way, make particular choices and relate to others the way they do. It’s the underlying modus operandi. And again, though we are using some extreme language here to describe this issue - almost as if approval is like a drug - there are varying levels of dependence, from the more subtle to the totally life limiting.

Fitting In

Whether or not they know it, some people have an unhealthy motivation that’s limiting their lives seeking  approval from others. They have been literally driven to fit in, enslaved by others’ expectations and opinions. There are others who may look quite similar yet their underlying motivation is different. Take appearance for example. Some have been directed by God to be relevant as a means of reaching people and being excellent like God is. They have responded first to God’s direction. This is not a matter of appearance, desire to fit in or be approved; it is a matter of priority. God’s approval first. (You are already accepted my friend, by who is most important.)

It’s an internal issue of the heart and mind and difficult to diagnose in others. So why not consider yourself for a minute…before you start thinking about that other person who really needs to hear this?

Try Becoming More Aware of Your Motivations for a Day Or Two

When this struggle has a hold on you, it’s not merely some people’s approval you look for, it’s virtually everyone’s. Sure you can discount certain people for various reasons in the world according to you, but not many. This force will literally drag you around all day looking for approval and it can be operating without your conscious awareness. It can become an insatiable desire. Until you come face to face with the reality that some people are never going to agree and some will perhaps not ever like you no matter what you say or do, the approval of man will hound you night and day.

Blessings to you and upon your endeavors,

Rick for TI-MC

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