Thus says the Lord, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool…All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1-3, ESV)
No one has ever confused me with being a psychologist. Still, it seems that it does not take years of clinical training to understand that everyone wants to be noticed and valued.
When we were young, we scoured the bleachers to see if Dad noticed us in the on-deck circle. Long before we reached our teenage years, we searched the crowds to see if our parents noticed the “bucket” we made to go ahead by two.
There are exceptions, of course. Being in the sixth grade and required to take piano was unmitigated “hell.” The two months leading up to the recital were a slow march to the guillotine.
Once the day arrived to demonstrate my musical incompetence, I could only think about getting off the stage before soiling my britches. I never looked to see if anyone recognized me as a musical prodigy.
When I reached middle school, if I did something significant on the football field, my first instinct was to see if my girlfriend, a cheerleader, noticed. I still cared about my parents, but their attention was a distant second to what my girlfriend thought.
By the time I was playing competitive golf, I could not wait to open the next day’s newspaper to see if they had covered the match against our rival, especially if we put a smackdown on them.
It is not my place to make judgments about motives. Still, it is not a stretch to guess that these world-class golfers hunger for recognition and affirmation from parents, spouses, and friends underneath Tour Life’s glitz and glamor (e.g., trophies, winnings, and interviews).
There are a million ways we try to satisfy our cravings for recognition, some proper and others not so much! I am not qualified to make dogmatic assertions, but deep down in our essential nature, we find an unavoidable need for recognition and affirmation.
How we go about “scratching that itch” is all-determining. The class clown, the valedictorian (never a possibility for me), the beauty queen, the outstanding athlete, the uber-wealthy kid, and the “party boy” all hope for the same thing—recognition and appreciation.
Looking back, all our efforts, noble or ignoble, toward satisfying our deep need for recognition fall woefully short of hitting the spot. Life becomes subjectively meaningless and existentially empty apart from experiencing God’s approval.
Through Isaiah, the Lord tells us what it takes to get his “look” and affirmation. If we do not sense the Lord’s approving gaze, humility is the place to start or start over.
Cultivating humility is our lifelong duty and a long-sought-after place of finding the Father’s delight. Nothing compares to experiencing the Father’s “imprimatur.” Sensing the favorable gaze of our Creator transcends all earthly recognition.
Apart from the Father’s approving gaze, all that is left is chronic Narcissism. A recent article indicates that the most requested song at funerals is “I Did It My Way,” sung by Ole Blue Eyes. Infinitely Tragic!
This might strike you as counterintuitive, but no one gets the Father’s approving smile apart from surrendering to his Son. Why?
God the Father cannot “grade on the curve.” He only accepts moral perfection. The only One who achieves that is his Son, Jesus Christ. The indescribable good news is that the Father will credit our accounts with Jesus’ perfection when we give our lives to him.
Falling short of experiencing the Father’s approval through Christ, sadly, we seek to find it in people and things that never satisfy. Let’s humble ourselves daily before the Almighty!
Prayer: Father! I long for your approval! Cause me to taste it.