“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it…Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified [lit. disapproved]” (1 Cor 9:24-27).

Mark Twain said, “Self-approval is acquired mainly from the approval of other people.”

W. Somerset Maugham wrote in The Moon and Sixpence: “Man’s desire for the approval of his fellows is so strong…it keeps watch over him, vigilant always in the interests of its master to crush any half-formed desire to break away from the herd.”

We all seek approval. God has wired us so that approval is important to us.

The approval we crave most is the approval of those who mean the most to us. Growing up, we sought to have and maintain the approval of our parents.

When we married, we sought to retain the approval of our spouse.

As employees, we aim to have the approval of our boss on an ongoing basis.

As Christians, we aim to have the ongoing approval of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you think of it as a pyramid, His approval should be at the top.

Paul said that the spiritual man has “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). To have His mind is to think the way He thinks. It is to have a Christlike mindset. At the heart of the mind of Christ is seeking His approval. Paul emphasized the importance of Christ’s approval.

He knew Christ approved of him. See 2 Cor 13:6. His concern was retaining that approval even as he called others to strive to have and retain His approval. See 1 Cor 9:24-27, cited above.

To be in the faith in our experience is to be approved currently (2 Cor 13:5-7).

Other expressions besides approved or disapproved (dokimos, adokimos, and dokimazō) include, “Well done, good servant” (Luke 19:17), “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21, 23), and other forms of praise and reward (tree of life, hidden manna, new name, Him confessing our name before the Father, etc.).

The Lord Jesus said it would be a terrible exchange to gain the whole world but forfeit God’s approval (Matt 16:26).

Both believers and unbelievers recognize that approval is important. Many mention that self-approval is most important.

Oliver Goldsmith said, “He who seeks only for applause from without has all his happiness in another’s keeping.”

Pamela Anderson said, “Eventually, you just have to realize that you’re living for an audience of one. I’m not here for anyone else’s approval.”

But how do we gain self-approval? For the Christian, it should come from an audience of one, but with a capital O. I once heard the late Baptist evangelist Ron Dunn, speaking before 5,000 Campus Crusade for Christ staff (circa 1975), say that he did not view the people before him as his audience. He said, “God is my audience.” He sought God’s approval. I was moved by what he said. God’s approval is indeed the most important.

Only if we have God’s approval can we have strong self-approval.

The Apostle Paul’s triumphant cry at the end of his life in 2 Tim 4:6-8 was only possible because he knew that he had finished his race and the Lord’s approval was his.

We should all live with God as our main audience. The Lord Jesus is the One whose approval we crave. It would be very sad to gain the approval of the whole world and lose His approval.

We have His approval as long as we walk in the light of His Word and confess our sins as we become aware of them. The key is abiding in Him and having His Word abide in us. As long as we persist in walking with Him, we remain in a state of approval.

Oh, wouldn’t it be great to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?