Let's just jump right in. If you long to walk with the Spirit of God the way I do you must put people, along with their opinions and expectations of you, in their proper place.
Being overly concerned (read obsessed) about what others think of you is a hindrance in cultivating intimacy with the Holy Ghost.
Even as a child I ran myself ragged trying to make everyone happy. As a young adult I was a chameleon. I did all I could to be like everyone in order to be liked.
I brought this into my walk with God. Wanting to be accepted I frantically tried to please everyone. If I at all sensed someone was displeased with me I lost sleep and did all I could to regain their approval.
The greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This cannot be done when the fear of man moves us to please people instead of God.
Approval seekers cannot follow or obey God unless they feel everyone approves of them, their decisions, their words, or their actions. Therefore deliverance in this area is imperative.
In attempting to be delivered of approval seeking I have seen people go the opposite way. Instead of seeking to please others they live to please themselves alone. People like this love the scripture that says we ought to obey God rather than men Acts 5:29. They adopt the stance that no longer are they subject to the authority of others and cast off restraint. This is rebellion and foolishness. My Granny would have said they are throwing out the baby with the bath water.
God's word is clear concerning to our submission to spiritual and natural authority. A good disciple, wife, child, or servant certainly should seek to please the one in authority over them. In doing so they please God as all authority comes from Him.
Selfishness is also not deliverance. After loving God the second commandment is that we must love our brother as ourselves. In Philippians we are exhorted to not only look out for our own welfare but also for the welfare of others. Serving, loving, helping, and sharing with one another is not approval seeking. It is Christianity in the practical.
When I speak of deliverance from approval seeking, people pleasing, and the fear of man I am really talking about freedom from SELF. SELF is always self-analyzing, naval gazing, and preoccupied with appearance. Bookstores, even Christian ones are filled with self-help, self-actualizing, and self-fulfillment books.
SELF is the biggest idol there ever was. Destroy SELF and you destroy the power of the fear of man.
When my mind is on God and not SELF I can acknowledge my sins, faults, and frailties without falling apart. I can repent without walking in condemnation. I can take correction without rebellion rising up. I can be rebuked and still not be defeated. Why? Because my faults are my faults. They are not me. If I love God I want Him to correct my faults because I want to be like Him. If I love people I want my faults to be corrected because I don't want to hurt anyone.
When my mind is on God and not SELF I can be judged, disapproved of, criticized, and falsely accused because I know what He thinks of me...and that's all that really matters. He is the only one I'll have to stand before on that great day.
When my mind is on God and not SELF everyone inthe world can hate me and I can still love them all. How do I know? Because Jesus did it first.
Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like. Jn 2:23-25 NLT
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Is 53:3 NKJ
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Is 53:3 NKJ
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. Is 53:7 NKJ
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Lk 23:34 NKJ
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