For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10 (ESV)John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians:: Consider Paul's boldness. He does not say, "I seek the approval of God," as though it were one option among many. He says, "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." The two masters cannot share a servant. The man who angles for human praise has already left Christ's employ -- he just hasn't turned in his notice.
**C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory:** We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Augustine, Confessions III.6:: I was not yet humbled, O Lord; I did not know my own weakness. I sought the praise of men as though it were solid food, and I consumed it greedily, not knowing that I was feeding on wind. The approval I chased left me emptier each time I caught it, for it was never the approval I truly needed.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ I.1:: Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience withdraws from grace. And he who seeks anything for himself alone loses that which is common to all. No man safely rejoiceth unless he has within him the testimony of a good conscience -- and that conscience is forged not by the crowd's applause but by the quiet work of denying oneself what comes easiest.
What did you build yesterday to avoid a conversation you owe someone today?
If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations VIII.47St. Clair, MI -- Clear, 56°F (feels like 53°F). Humidity 87%, wind N at 6 mph. Sunrise 6:24 AM, sunset 8:48 PM. High near 78°F under mostly sunny skies.