The Peculiar Treasure

We were not meant to chase praise or seek approval, but that's exactly what we tend to do. Today I'm sharing my thoughts on how Christians should handle our tendencies towards people pleasing and seeking praise.

A few months ago, as I worked on making a loaf of sourdough for our community group, I was struck with how easily I am motivated by the approval of others. Did I have time to make this? Not really. Were my panties getting all in a wad by adding something to my plate that was unnecessary? Also yes (and wadded panties are not pleasant for me or anyone who has to deal with me 🤷).

Yes, it's helpful that I bring a snack. Yes, I want to do everything I do well, with excellence. Yes, God has given me the ability to cook, and I can use that for his glory.

And yet, it's so easy to still have wrong motives. It's so easy to help and serve but with a wrong heart.

I'll bake this bread, they'll be impressed. I'll serve and they'll be thankful. I'll find my identity in praise, and I'll crash when the praise doesn't come. What if it wasn't good? What if they're not impressed? I'll find my worth in things with none. I'll seek their nods of approval. Striving, striving for superficial love that never lasts. It never lasts.

Obviously the image above is a little dramatic. Which is so, um, unlike me😉

But seriously, I do not live and die by what people think of my sourdough. However, I do notice in myself a heart that seeks praise.

It's so easy to sign up to do more than I have to because I want people to be impressed. It's so easy to seek approval through things that I'm good at. This can get tricky because we should be using our gifts for the glory of God. And we should serve not just when it's convenient to do so. Likewise, our hearts aren't always going to have the perfect motives, but that doesn't mean we should stop serving. Yet...well, we don't want to have the wrong motives and seek praise or approval when we use our talents.

I once saw a post on Instagram by Maryanne Challies Helms about how to handle praise and how to handle criticism. She said that when we receive praise we should receive it as encouragement, give it to God, and put it away. Conversely, when we are criticized, we should receive it as education, give it to God, and put it away.

Believers should encourage one another. We need that encouragement. We need people to point out the growth in our lives, the good things God is doing, and the talents he has given us to use for his glory and our enjoyment. Likewise, we need people to speak hard truths to us. We need people to be willing to say the hard things sometimes even if we will feel criticized.

And we should be willing to do both of these things for our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. But what we do not need to do is live for praise or live by criticism. We were not made to seek our own glory, nor were we made to constantly strive to prove to people that we are better than they think we are.

So here's the truth for me (and it's true for you too, believer):

Christ is my righteousness. My worth comes from God. I was made for him and by him. Even if I received nothing but praise for everything I did, that would not change where my worth comes from. Living for the praise of others is a never-ending cycle. I will never be satisfied by it. I will only feel the pull to chase it more. It will consume me and convince me that my joy is just around the corner, that it will arrive when I get praised for the next thing. But God has already made me whole. There is nothing I need to chase. I only need to walk with him.