"So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 (NIV)
You are living for someone's approval right now. That is just how humans work. You make choices based on what someone thinks. You adjust your behavior based on whose opinion matters to you. The question is not whether you care what people think. The question is whose opinion you care about most.
Most people live their whole lives for the wrong audience. They make decisions based on what their boss will think. They spend money to impress people they barely know. They say yes when they should say no because they fear rejection. They build their entire identity around what other people think of them. And they are exhausted because that audience is never satisfied.
Here is what happens when you live for earthly applause. You become a slave to opinions that change every day. What impressed people yesterday bores them today. What made you popular last year makes you irrelevant this year. You can never do enough, be enough, or achieve enough. You are chasing approval that moves like a target. And you will spend your whole life trying to please people who will forget you the moment you stop performing.
Paul gives us a completely different frame in 2 Corinthians 5:9. He says we make it our goal to please Him. Not them. Not the crowd. Not the culture. Him. Jesus Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God. This connects directly to Colossians 3:1 where Paul says set your hearts on things above, where Christ is. When you reframe your priorities around pleasing Christ, everything changes. Same life, different audience, total freedom.
But here is the part most people forget. You will stand before Jesus someday and give an account. Every believer will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. This is not about salvation. If you are in Christ, you are saved forever. This is about rewards. Did you live for earthly applause or heavenly approval? Did you invest your life in things that last or things that fade? Did you reframe your priorities around Christ or stay stuck in the world's frame?
Godseekers, let this truth reframe how you live today. Stop making decisions based on what people will think. Start asking what Jesus will say when you stand before Him. That job offer that pays more but compromises your values? What will Jesus say? That relationship that feels good but pulls you from God? What will Jesus say? That schedule packed with good things but no time for God things? What will Jesus say? When you set your mind on things above like Colossians 3:2 commands, you start living for the applause that actually matters. And that changes everything.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I confess that I have lived for the wrong audience. I have cared more about what people think than what You think. I have made decisions to impress others instead of pleasing You. Forgive me for chasing approval that does not last. Help me remember that I will stand before You one day. Give me the courage to live for Your approval alone. Reframe my priorities so I make choices based on eternity, not just today. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Personal Reflection
- Whose approval are you actually living for right now, and how is that shaping your decisions?
- If you stood before Jesus today and He reviewed your last week, what would He say about how you spent your life?
Step of Faith
Today, I will identify one decision I need to make, and before I decide, I will ask myself, "What will Jesus say about this choice when I stand before Him?"
