“Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant”.
(Galatians 1:10).
It is the nature of almost all men to conduct their affairs with an eye to the approval of some audience or other.
A need for approval is a major part of human relationships. While some may sparingly seek approval from others for all their conducts many have taken it to an outrageous level where they seek others’ approval every step of the way in their affairs.
In the light of worshipping God, we would examine the nature of our audience. Which audience do we have in our mind when we walk with God or worship Him?
Who do we consider the audience in the conduct of our affairs? God? Ourselves? Men? The congregation or even our family or all of these taken together?
This is a soul-searching question that should always be considered as we conduct our affairs before God and man.
Giving constant consideration to these questions before we make decisions encourages us to live our lives before God and not be led by the approval or fear of men or to be led by our self-serving- what is in it for me- nature.
In Genesis 17:1, God called Abraham and gave him an important guidepost for living saying: “ I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.”
Here God is saying to Abraham “I am your most important audience, the only One that matters, the only One who can indeed bless you. Therefore live your life before me because I am watching you. Don’t live your life for the approval of men because your blessing isn’t from men but from Me, the Almighty. Live your life for the Audience of One and not of Two”.
Obviously, Apostle Paul was familiar with this principle when he said: “ Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant”. (Galatians 1:10).
Jesus also reminded us about the principle of One Audience which is God when he affirmed that “ No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money”. (Mathew 6:24).
As Christians, when we make our comfort, money, or our career advancement the goal in our fellowship with God and not the selfless seeking of God Himself then we would have turned away from the Audience of One to the audience of other things.
We would no longer be walking in pure fellowship with God but distracted from him as we perform for the Audience of two – which is a huge distraction from fellowship with God.
To follow God and walk with God like God demanded of Abraham is to walk before the Audience of One God, it is about solely shifting our focus from other distractions and looking only to God as “the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. (Hebrews 11:6).
Paul was a Christ-centered hero who did not need the approval of men. His deeds were done before the Audience of One, and that was enough for him. That was why he could confidently say-
“And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearance”. (2 Timothy 4:8).
The true rewarder of our Christian faith is the Audience of One, God Almighty and we should walk before Him and be blameless like Abraham did and like Paul did. No man who plays to the tune of the Audience of Two is spared from distractions. Such a Christian cannot candidly look forward to the crowning reward that comes from the Audience of One.
Underpinning the Audience of One is God’s strong warning to those who seek to walk solely before him, saying: “ I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images”.
Beloved, God is our only Audience: when you make Him alone the Audience of your prayer, praise, worship, and love He will in turn do for you what no other audience can offer you.
Reading
Genesis 17:1-16
