“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10, NIV).

     There’s an amusing story told about the late British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. One day, Churchill was entertaining questions from members of the House of Commons. A memberof the Socialist party railed against Churchill, spewing venomous words against him. Meanwhile, Winston Churchill remained impassive. He actually looked bored. When it came time for Churchill to respond, he rose and said, “If I valued the opinion of the honorable gentleman, I might get angry.”

     One of the greatest needs that human beings have is to be accepted, valued, and loved. Criticism is a direct assault on that basic human need. Yet, this doesn’t mean that you and I must have the approval of others before we can feel good about ourselves. Paul was no stranger to the reproach of others. “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?” Paul asked. “Or am I
trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

     Scripture clearly draws the line concerning our search for approval. Either we seek the approval of people or God as the basis of our self-worth. We can’t have it both ways. God wants to be the Lord of our lives, and He is unwilling to share that responsibility with anyone else.
Consequently, the only way to overcome the fear of criticism is to seek God’s opinion more than public opinion.

     Of course, there are some things in life we do we’d rather not do. We do things for others because we love them. But that’s entirely different from being controlled and manipulated by the fear of public disapproval. In fact, great freedom exists for those who seek an audience of One.

     Besides, as the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius, once said, “A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic.”