"for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God"

Read John 12:20-50, Matthew 6:1-21

I don't know about you, but this past week and a half has been a rough one for me! Maybe you can relate. Here's the problem. When we do something good, something that we know God wants us to do, we usually expect some kind of recognition or reward for it. We may never admit that, but it's oftentimes true nonetheless. However, instead of having someone sing our praises, our good deeds often go completely unnoticed...or even worse, they're misunderstood. After a while, we start to think, "What's the point to all this? I'm doing my best to do God's work and be obedient to Him, and I'm either getting burned for doing the right thing, or my work is going unnoticed and unappreciated. Why even bother?" Do you see a problem with this type of thinking? Lately, I've been starting to think this way. That's when God hit me hard with His word in John 12:43, and He certainly got my attention. Let's take a look at this passage and see if you can have the same "Aha" moment that I did!

In John 12:20-50, Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem just a few short days before He would be crucified. In this passage, He is teaching the people who have gathered to meet with Him. As He is speaking, He says, "Father, glorify Your name, " and in response, a voice actually comes down from heaven and responds, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again" (28). The crazy thing is, that in response to hearing a literal voice from heaven, many of the people still can't believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that the voice that they heard was actually God's voice. Instead, we read in verse 29 that some people attributed the voice to some thunder, while others claimed it was an angel. It's hard to believe that people could hear God's voice sounding from heaven, and still refuse to believe Jesus is the Messiah. Verse 37 says, "But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him." This is truly tragic. What's equally tragic is the group of people described next.

In verses 42-43, we read that many other people actually did believe, but they would not confess Jesus, because they were afraid of what the Pharisees would think. Verse 43 is the one that jumped out at me and hit me hard..."for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." Wow. When you put it like that, it really shows the folly in the type of thinking I was describing in my opening paragraph.

In Matthew 6:1-21, Jesus instructs people not to do their good works in a way that will get them noticed by other people. The examples He gives are when believers give tithes, when they pray, and when they fast. If we are doing these things in a way that will get us recognized by others, people's approval of us is the only reward we'll ever get. Matthew 6:1 says, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in heaven." This is the dilemma Christians find themselves in. In our flesh, we have a desire to have our works noticed by others. However, when we do our work for God in a way that will get us noticed by others, God refuses to recognize those works or reward them in the kingdom. We have a choice. We can either gain approval from other men, and have a great reputation in which everyone thinks very highly of us, OR we can do our works in secret and have God reward them in heaven. The question is...are we seeking man's approval, or God's approval??

This passage has been a wake-up call for me! It feels so great to get noticed by others. My love language is hands down, "words of affirmation." When someone praises me for something I've done, I feel like a million bucks. However, that feeling quickly fades! Is this momentary feeling of approval by others really what I should be seeking? Of course not!

If you're feeling discouraged right now because you're trying so desperately to follow God's will and please Him, but are getting either ignored or misunderstood by others, I hope you will be encouraged by this passage. There is no one in history who followed God as perfectly as Jesus Christ, yet He was misunderstood, hated, and reviled. He is our example.

Maybe you're not one of these discouraged behind-the-scenes people, but are instead a shameless self-promoter. Maybe you're one of those individuals described in Matthew 6 who make a show about all they are doing for God, so other people will notice them. If this is the case, I hope these passages of Scripture will change your perspective. Remember that the small feeling of gratification that you are experiencing when someone notices your works does not even come close to comparing with the incredible riches you are forfeiting in the kingdom...