Approval?

I was just reading in John 12 and found this line troubling:

"for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God." John 12:43

Ouch! That kind of hit me. What a thought. Do I love the approval of:

• "Wow, that was a great message"
• "You saved my son's life..."
• "You are just so funny"
• "I thought you did an excellent job today"
• "You are a great writer"
• "You are a real visionary"
• "You are so creative, how do you do it?"

more than I love the approval of my Heavenly Father? Would I be willing to pass up all those things if that meant gaining the approval of God? Would I risk being unpopular in the eyes of people to make Jesus proud?

As a church starter your ego is so closely tied into the church at times that I think we all could spend a few moments unpacking these questions.