Obedience Versus Seeking the Approval of Others

MaryLu Tyndall’s excellent post earlier in the week was put up in lieu of an interview, as we recently interviewed her.  And we’ve been playing around a little with our format here on OTT-WGH.  As she pointed out, seeking popularity via the approval of others, is a game most of us women get caught up in at least at one point in our lives. Men, too.  But the Bible is clear on this—we are to first seek God’s approval in all things and be obedient to His will.  And we certainly aren’t to go looking for approval from worldly and ungodly people.  But we do. 

If we’d get our priorities straight each day, that helps. Carving out that time for the Word, prayers, and seeking His will for the day. I recently posted on spiritual disciplines on the ACFW blog.  And when we walk in His will, He brings those to us that we are supposed to be associating with.  And if they are scurrying our way from his foe, hopefully we can discern from whence they’ve come.  And send them on their way again. Not always easy to do. Confronting the snarkers, the hateful, the insolent, boastful, proud, and merciless who break their promises is difficult. (See Romans 1:28-32.) “Worse yet they encourage others to do (these things) too.”  As MaryLu beautifully portrayed in this book, Veil of Pearls.

Have a blessed Saturday.  The next drawing will be tonight and announced as a comment on this post.  Still time to enter. 

What about you—have you had to cut ties with people, as Adalia did, to maintain your right relationship with God?

MaryLu Tyndall Speaks on Popularity

To be popular or not to be popular, that is the question

By MaryLu Tyndall

Our culture is obsessed with fame and popularity. Just look at all the reality shows that have sprung up over the past twenty years where ordinary people compete to win a prize and potentially become famous. Survivor, The Great Race, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, to name just a few. Everyone wants to be famous! To be a star! To have people accept them, love them, and give them value. Honestly, who wouldn’t want that? It feeds a deep ravenous need within all of us to be somebody, not just another of the billion or so people who inhabit the planet. We want to be special. To be unique and valued. We want what God has implanted in each of our hearts—to be loved unconditionally for who we are.

This need begins to truly manifest itself in High School. At least it did for me. If your High School was anything like mine, it didn’t take long for each kid to be assigned a label. Jock, Cool, Skater, Grunge, Emo, Nerd, and a million other “groups” which separated everyone and predetermined their behavior based on stereotypical ideas.  My shyness and good grades automatically put me somewhere between the nerd and weirdo groups, where I stayed my entire High School years! At the time, I thought that was entirely unfair and couldn’t understand why I couldn’t join the “cool” and “popular” kids. They got all the attention, got invited to all the parties, had all the fun. (Or so it seemed). I wanted to badly to be accepted in their group—to be liked. But that never happened.

This longing to be valued extended well into my adult years as I grew and matured and tried to fashion myself, both in speech, dress, and behavior, into the kind of person who would fit in with the crowd everyone liked and looked up to.  For a while I even succeeded. I began dating a man who was in that crowd, and I quickly became one of them.  But I was still empty inside. Hanging out with these people wasn’t me. I didn’t enjoy the things they did, the parties, the dinners, the conversation. In truth, I wanted so badly for them to like me, that I had molded myself into someone completely unrecognizable. And in the process I had denied the unique-self God made me to be.  In essence, I made these people my God instead of worshiping my Creator.

This is the theme of my new release, Veil of Pearls. The fear of man. The Bible says that “The fear of man brings a snare”. When you crave human opinion and accolades more than you crave God, then you have a problem with the fear of man.  And if you continue down that course the results can be a devastating—a complete loss of the person God made you to be and a gnawing emptiness inside. Not to mention the worse result of all, a weakening of your relationship with God himself.

That’s what happens to Adalia, the heroine in my story. She hid her heritage, the essence of who she was, in order to become part of the Charleston Elite—to enjoy their lavish lifestyle of delicacies, parties, plays, and the approval of people who wouldn’t have given her the time of day before. But in the process, she lost touch with God.

Fortunately for Adalia (and for me!), we both came to our senses and returned to the only ONE who can fill that need for value. God Himself. He is the answer to this burning desire to be somebody. You see, everyone is somebody in His kingdom! He knew who you would be, all your talents, quirks, personality, likes, dislikes, humor, etc., before he even formed you in your mother’s womb. You are unique and precious to Him. He has something He needs you to do here on earth that only You can do. He loves you boundlessly. Maybe you’ve heard that before. Maybe you haven’t, but once you really believe it and get it deep down inside of you, you won’t have any desire for fame or praise from anyone else this world but God! 


MaryLu's books can be found on CBD, Amazon, Lifeway, Barnes and Noble, and other book stores.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of MaryLu’s books, choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners will only receive the book in ebook format not as a paperback. Two winners will be drawn this week.