“It is a very small thing that I should be judged by you.” (1 Corinthians 4:3)
Total freedom flows from only being interested in God’s opinion.
‘Your opinion does not interest me’ is not exactly a sentence that you would expect if the Holy Spirit inspires someone to write a letter to a church. Yet it is written there. And it is immediately part of the explanation why Paul was such a great man.
Almost every person has the need to belong; to be found well; to receive appreciation and to enjoy respect. Through this we can easily get to do things that you do not really stand behind. That is not always bad. It is bad if you thereby do things that God does not support.
What a freedom it gives to be indifferent to the opinion of this world, just like Paul was. The only thing that was important to Paul was what God thought of his life. He understood what it’s all about: that God is the audience of your life. Only His applause counts.
Is God’s opinion about you enough for you? Or do you somehow still need the approval of the people around you?