"Gottes Ehre ist dort am größten, wo unsere Zufriedenheit in ihm am größten ist." God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. That's what you just heard in German from our friend Alex. Alex is bringing Desiring God's Resources to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It's an amazing reach.

And you'll hear what he's working on here in just a moment. But first, on to this day after Christmas. Pastor John, we have a question from Hope, a listener who wants to know how we should get praised rightly. It's a great question. Here it is. Pastor John, hello. My question focuses on my struggle with needing to feel important by those in my church body.

The Bible teaches that we should seek approval from God, not from man. That's Galatians 1.10. It also teaches that we should encourage one another in spirit, 1 Thessalonians 5.11, and praise those who fear the Lord, that's Proverbs 31.30. I feel a strong desire within myself to hear words of affirmation from my ministry to feel loved, valued, regarded, and needed.

But these desires don't feel holy. It feels like a need to be seen rather than humbly giving Jesus a spotlight. How do I begin to put to death my need for recognition and cultivate a spirit of humble servitude? Can we distinguish between need for man's approval and desiring brotherly encouragement?

Pastor John, what would you say to Hope? One of the benefits of this question is that it gives us a chance to lay out some of the paradoxes of Scripture that people sometimes stumble over, which I think is what's happening in this question. And then I think we can see a single key that I think goes a long way to navigating these paradoxes without being double-minded or contradicting ourselves.

So here are four of the paradoxes I'm talking about, and what I mean by paradox, in case anybody wonders, "What are you talking about, paradox?" What I mean by paradox is that two things—in this case, two things in the Bible—sound like they don't fit together, like they might be contradictory, but they really aren't contradictory.

They really do fit together if we just had the key to unlock the pathway that honors both sides of the paradox. So here's four examples quickly from the Bible. First, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." Paradox on the other side, Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine that others may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Shall we want to be seen or not want to be seen?

Number two, Galatians 1:10, "Am I now seeking the approval of man or of God, or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." 1 Corinthians 10:33, "I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage but that of many that they may be saved." Well, Paul, do we try to please people or do we not care about pleasing people?

Number three, Proverbs 22:1, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold." Or Luke 6:26, "Woe to you when people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the prophets." Well, do we seek a good reputation or should we beware of it?

Number four, Proverbs 31:30, "A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised by people." Romans 2:29, "A true Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart by the Spirit, not the letter. His praise is not from people but from God." Well, should we be glad when we're praised by man or should we consider that a dangerous sign?

So here they are again, these four paradoxes, and we're trying to steer a way through them that honors the intention on both sides. One, desiring that your good works be seen or desiring that they not be seen. Two, aiming to please people or indifference to pleasing people. Three, desiring a good reputation or being indifferent to our reputation.

Glad when we are praised for some good or concerned that that gladness might be a signal of sin in us. Now, I think there is a key to navigating these paradoxes, a key that keeps us from rejecting the truth of either side of the paradox. And that key is experiencing such a change of our natural pride and selfishness that God himself, all that he is for us in Christ, that God himself becomes our supremely enjoyed, supremely treasured Savior, King, and Shepherd, and Father, and Friend.

Or to say it another way, when God is treasured more than the sinful possibilities of either side of these paradoxes, we will be protected from that sin and led in the right use of both sides of the paradoxes. For example, if God is supremely satisfying to us, then we won't crave the ego satisfaction of being seen for our good works.

God is our greatest reward, not the praise of man. And if we think rightly that some good deed should be seen by others, then that will be motivated not for our praise, but so that others can see that these deeds flowed from a heart satisfied in God. God will be glorified because we were so satisfied in him that the joy of knowing him overflowed in generosity.

That's spelled out in 2 Corinthians 8 verse 2. Or what about pleasing people? Paul said he doesn't do it, and he said he does do it. Now, I think what he means is this. When people-pleasing is a way of manipulating a situation to satisfy your craving for human approval, you're sending a message that God is not your treasure, human approval is your treasure.

That's the message you send. But on the other hand, if you go through life or pursue your ministry thumbing your nose at other people's feelings and hopes and expectations with no concern at all about how other people may be offended by what you do or say or how many unnecessary stumbling blocks you put in the way of the gospel, then you're sending the message that it's not God's mercy and patience that has satisfied your soul, making you eager to win people rather than push people away.

You're just on an ego trip of exalting yourself. God is not in you creating the loving desire to draw people into the sweetness of your walk with him. Or what about caring about a good reputation or the danger of others speaking well of us? If we are living to magnify the worth of God by being satisfied in him, then we will sense the difference between wanting a good reputation for ego gratification or for getting rich versus a good reputation for the sake of showing the all-sufficiency of God in our lives.

We will sense the difference between cowardly avoidance of people's criticism on the one hand and courageous willingness to live and speak in a way that brings down their approach of unbelievers on the other hand. And the key in both cases will be the condition of our own hearts. Is God the supreme treasure, or am I just pushing him aside because of how good it feels to have a good reputation and less criticism because of my biblical Christian?

And finally, what about receiving worthy praise, like the woman in Proverbs 31 who fears the Lord versus living for the praise of man rather than the praise of God in Romans 2.29? And I think the key again is this. When it says she fears the Lord, what that means is that she fears treasuring anything in this world more than God.

God has become her greatest treasure, her greatest joy, and the only fearful thing in the presence of such a God is insulting him by treasuring anything above him. So when the woman is praised for her fear of God, it's God who's being praised, God himself who is praised overall.

That's not something to be rejected. The difference between that and Romans 2.29 is that Romans 2.29 underlines the fact that if there's something in us that is praiseworthy about God, what matters most is that God see it and that God approve of it, not that man see it and approve of it.

Above all, we want God to be pleased that he is supremely pleasing to us. If man finds this worthy of praise, so be it. That's good, but it is quite secondary to God's approval. So my answer to the question we were asked, "How do I put to death my need for recognition and cultivate a spirit of humble servitude?" is this.

Devote the rest of your life to knowing God and all that he is for you in Christ, and seek to be supremely satisfied in him. Amen. Thank you, Pastor John. This conversation is relevant to social media, too. It reminds me of an episode we did on Instagramming our Good Works, APJ 1151.

You can find that in the archive. APJ 1151, good stuff. Well, it takes a team to bring Desiring God resources to the world and to reach non-English speakers, and that includes Alex laboring in the German-speaking world. You heard his voice at the very top of this episode, and we asked him for an update on his work.

Here's what he shared. My name is Alex Reindl, and I am from Austria. I'm with Evangelium 21, which is a gospel network for the German-speaking world, for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. And our aim, our mission is to strengthen the local church, and we do that by setting up conferences, teaching, and by running a website.

And the second thing I'm involved in is Verbum Median, which is a publisher that is also focusing on strengthening the local church through publishing books, e-books, and audio books. So the most unique thing I would say about the Desiring God resources that we have, and what I really, we really appreciate about the emphasis is that the Christian endeavor is supposed to be a joyful one.

And for many German-speaking Christians, Christian walk and a Christian faith would rather be something with a grinchy, grumpy face, something that we just have to run through and fight through it. And we understand that's part of it. It is not a, you know, very romantic walking on the beach kind of thing.

But what is so clear in Scripture, and John Piper and Desiring God have been made so clear, is that God is aiming at our heart to be joyful in Him. And we loved it. And that has been super helpful for our context. The folks at Desiring God have been so encouraging in helping us grow for the German-speaking market and language.

So we always feel appreciated and strengthened in what we do. And they come along that endeavor and just not try to push anything onto us or push any agenda. They are trying to be super helpful. And also on a very personal level, I've experienced a lot of coaching and mentoring over the last few years, just on, you know, how to approach things, how to be patient in many aspects, where there is a small market, a very small number of Christians, and you need to be patient.

And Desiring God guys have been, few names come to mind that have been so involved in our lives, in my life, and I'm super grateful for. You look at, if the numbers are correct, maybe 2% evangelicals in Germany, about 3 to 4% in Switzerland, and less than 0.5% in Austria, which is heartbreaking for somebody who lives there and serves there.

And we are praying that the upcoming years would be a time where God uses us and many others to bring forward the new Reformation, to do what God has done 500 years ago, to gather people around His Word and just bring glory to Himself by a growing and healthy church.

And we are excited about what's to come, and so thankful for the opportunities we have to serve together. So, one of the things that amazes me is the fact that we are part of a global gospel movement, and that so many people can be a part of it by doing what we do, what I do, or by joining the mission, by supporting, by giving, by praying.

And I am so thankful for you who is joining that endeavor. So thank you for being a part of what we do in the German-speaking world and so many others all over the globe. A new Reformation. Amen. Thank you, Alex, for your faithful labors in this direction and with this hope.

If you're already a ministry partner with Desiring God, you're in this global gospel movement already, making possible everything that you just heard about. And so thank you for your partnership and the fruit of it that we heard about today. And if you're not yet a partner and you want to join in what's happening through Desiring God in the English-speaking world and how that overflows into Alex's world to reach the German-speaking world, you can join us today.

Become a monthly ministry partner with us. Much of our financial support comes from friends of ours who give, on average, $30 a month to support all this work. To set up monthly giving, go to give.desiringgod.org. That's give.desiringgod.org. Hugely appreciated on behalf of all of us at Desiring God. And Pastor John, thank you for your support and partnership.

We'll see you back here on Wednesday. 1. Desiring God you you