"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."
To follow Christ means to cut away from the need for acceptance and approval of other people. A life driven by Christ cannot also be determined by the expectations, social conventions, politics, and prejudices of others.
In today's Lesson St. Paul is reflecting on all that he had to cut away from, give up, and go against in order to follow Christ. Following Christ meant rejection for Paul. Learning to speak his own truth meant risking hostile stares and hostile words. He learned to speak anyways.
An old, and very wise mentor and minister of the Gospel once asked me, "What is your history with disapproval?"
That was not so much a question about my past as it was my future.
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