In the discussion about seeking the approval of God and not the approval of man, one thing needs to be made clear -- having the approval of man is not a bad thing. Proverbs 22:1 says, "A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold." Clearly, having a good reputation is a very good thing.
In the book of Philemon, Paul uses his good reputation in an effort to pursuade Philemon to be kind to his slave, Onesimus , who had run away, but was returning. Fearing that Philemon would do his slave some kind of harm, Paul write these words, "So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me."
Even Jesus had the approval of man. We referenced this earlier this week regarding Jesus' pre-teen years. Luke 2 concludes with a statement that, "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." This would all change as he later challenged the religious establishment, but the point is that people genuinely liked Jesus.
The point I'm trying to make is that it's a good thing to have a good reputation. We run into trouble when we sacrifice what God wants us to do in order to please mankind.
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