It will likely take several posts on this topic to more fully express/explain my understanding of a very important character quality or trait of a bond-servant of Christ. This particular trait might be stated as follows: “A bond-servant of Christ strives to do the will of his/her Master and please Him only and has abandoned seeking after the praise of men“.
In Galatians 1:10 Paul states: “Am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I now striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men I would not be a bond-servant of Christ” Paul is clearly stating that striving or trying to please men will derail his efforts at being or becoming a bond-servant of Christ. Why is that?
In the Gospel of John chapter 12, we read the following:
I believe we can make several observations about the above passage. First, although some of these rulers actually appear to believe in Jesus, their faith was hindered in its expression because of fear of disapproval. I suggest that fear of disapproval is simply the “back side” of the thirst for praise. In other words our thirst for praise is the “positive” side of this motive, and the “fear of disapproval” is simply the negative side of this motive. Second, the passage does NOT evidence any disdain or condemnation of the believing rulers for having a desire to receive praise but simply that they “drank from the wrong fountain,” i.e., they substituted seeking God’s praise for that of man’s praise, via avoiding the condemnation or disapproval of men. The Greek word for “approval” used in this passage is the word doxa, from which we have coined the theological word “doxology” referring to a brief hymn of praise to God. Doxa can mean and has been translated as honor, praise, or glory.
A somewhat similar passage is found in an earlier chapter of John:
It appears clear from this passage that Jesus is not condemning their desire for praise/approval or honor, but He is clear that their seeking it from mere men is a hindrance to their faith in Him, and, that doing so evidences that they are more interested in receiving man’s approval, honor or praise than that of God Himself. In verse 41, Jesus says He does not “receive glory from men.” I understand this to mean He is not seeking glory [praise/honor] from men, but rather is seeking to please God at all times and live solely for His praise.
I suggest the following observations can be extracted from the Galatians 1:10 passage first mentioned above. First, Paul gives the impression that, at least in his past, he did, in fact, live to please men and receive praise from them. This is evidenced by his use of the words “if I were still trying…” Perhaps even when he was active in his persecution of Christians, one of his motives was to gain the approval and recognition of his superiors and other Pharisees. Imagine! Engaging in religious activities even in a zealous manner but all for the praise and recognition of others! Could it be that some of our own “religious” activities are done somewhat or even primarily to obtain the recognition and praise of others in our Christian community? Surely we all know that sometimes, and perhaps even often, that is the case. Notice also the verbs Paul used: seeking, striving, and trying. Those verbs do not imply a casual approach to “praise seeking” on the part of Paul, but rather an aggressive, assertive approach to grabbing as much recognition, approval, and praise as he could garner. Secondly, and more importantly, notice that Paul states flatly that if he DID live for the praise and approval of men HE SIMPLY COULD NOT BE A BOND-SERVANT OF CHRIST! Apparently in Paul’s mind, doing so [seeking praise from men] would completely sabotage his strong pursuit of knowing and serving Christ as His bondslave.
Each of us desires the approval of others, whether the “others” are our teachers, parents, colleagues, peers, employer, etc. That is only “normal” and, as I will discuss in a later post, I do not personally believe is a result of the fall. But I believe that “thirst” has become corrupted to the point that seeking praise, recognition and approval from other humans was intended to be replaced, as we matured, into satisfying that thirst for praise from or by God Himself. Our failure to “drink” from His fountain and instead seek satisfaction of our thirst by seeking the accolades of men, has resulted in a corruption of our motives as followers of Christ. In dealing with this seemingly “hard-wired” trait within ourselves, we must begin by recognizing it within us and it can be helpful to ask ourselves some frank questions:
In what ways do you engage in subtle [or not so subtle] ways to draw attention to yourself, or your competencies or appearance, or knowledge?
Do you look for opportunities in a conversation to “drop names” of important people you know or have met?
Do you find it difficult to offer commendation or affirmation to others with whom you find yourself competing at work, school, church, etc? Why do you think that is the case?
Are you willing to make a life-choice of abandoning living for and seeking after the praise of men, and instead begin seeking the approval and commendation of the only ONE whose opinion really matters?
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