I believe that since time began, we as a human race have always searched for two major things. I believe those two have been love and acceptance. If people were honest with themselves, they would say that being loved and having acceptance is what makes us human and that we need it in our lives. Whether it comes from our parents, friends, teachers or bosses, we long to be accepted. Grace Gealey once said, "In society, we have to earn other things of import like trust, respect, money, education, careers, status and etc., so naturally, we find ourselves attempting to earn love, acceptance and validation along with that. Here's the trip: we do it at the cost of other people and, more importantly, ourselves."
Have you ever asked yourself, "Why do you feel like you need to feel love and accepted?" It is a valid question. It could be because it's instinctive, just like it's instinctive to need food and water. It was created in our consciousness.
The media has the powerful ability to ignite these needs at our most vulnerable times. The media says that we need to make this amount of money to feel accepted by our friends, that we need to wear certain clothes to feel wanted by this girl or this guy. If we just had the fastest cars, if we just had the best career, we would then be accepted into the world's expectations. If we had those things, we would be on top. A lot of us fall into that lie. But could I tell you something? You are already accepted and loved even if you don't have those things. The God that created you says in his word that you are accepted, that you are desired, and that you are loved.
When you prayed and received Jesus into your heart, you immediately became apart of the family of christ. Therefore, we have been accepted, washed, sanctified, and justified eternally by God's grace and love.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace, you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5
In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:9-11
The only approval that matters is his.
