Whose approval are you living for?

Maybe it’s your boss or your spouse… maybe it’s your family or that person whose love you're most afraid of losing.

If we’re honest, many of us can be controlled by the master of what people think about us, living under the reign of others opinions and approval.

In the midst of pressure from the people, Pilate perceived that the crowd around him was demanding for Jesus’ death and crucification, all because of the envy in their hearts. Pilate could see through their politics and knew good and well their motives behind such a demand. But as the voices got louder, we get to one of the most chilling statements made in Mark’s gospel - “Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd…” (15:15)

Although he knew what was right, he chose what was popular. He chose to listen to the loudest voice in the room – the crowd’s demands and desires, proving that he was more afraid of the crowd’s anger and disapproval than he was of God’s justice.

And sadly, this is not merely an ancient problem Pilate alone dealt with. This is something many people face today – people pleasing. We have a tendency to make people bigger than God and give them enormous power over our decisions. In those moments, we can become just like Pilate: knowing what is right, but looking at the crowd around and caving in for their approval instead of fearing the Lord. Lou Priolo says that “Not only does the peoplepleaser love the wrong thing — the approval of man rather than the approval of God — he fears the wrong thing as well. He fears the disapproval of man more than the disapproval of God.”

It’s not possible to serve both the crowd and the King. We cannot live for the approval of another. May it be Christ alone whom we fear.