A Needed Approval

Those of us who are preachers sometimes forget who is out there listening.  There is always One whose approval is more important than the approval of a hundred congregations.  The same thing can be said about any choir, or any person gifted with music skills.  What preachers and musicians offer in the context of worship either meets the approval of God, or it is just a lot of useless noise.  Since all of us have egos which need stroking and ears that enjoy being tickled by flattering words, it is an easy truth to forget.    

As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans to the Jewish members of the church, he addresses himself to the way they sometimes are too focused on the externals which are mostly seen by others.  These external things not only made the Jewish members of the church feel spiritually superior at times, but they also were a reminder to others of their being set apart.  To those who understood the dangers of such and who sought to live mindful of God's intentions, he wrote, "Such a person receives praise not from others but from God."  (Romans 2:29)      

It is word which remains relevant in our own day.  What we do for God, we do for God even if no one else sees.  The temptation is to do what we do for God with the expectation that someone will see and express appreciation, commend us for our faithfulness, or stroke our needy ego.  When we do something for God, it does not matter if anyone else sees.  Whatever we do for God, He sees and knows.  Nothing else really matters.