The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee
Week 4: Chapter 3 — The Approval Addict
Read Chapter 3 of The Search for Significance. Key Scripture: Galatians 1:10; John 12:42-43; Romans 5:8.
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This week we confront the second false belief — that we must have the approval of certain people to feel good about ourselves — and explore how God's unconditional acceptance in Christ sets us free from the exhausting pursuit of human approval.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.McGee states the second false belief as: "I must be approved of by certain others to feel good about myself." Who are the "certain others" whose approval matters most to you — a parent, a spouse, a boss, a peer group, a congregation? Why do you think their opinion carries such weight?
2.McGee describes the "approval addict" as someone who has become so dependent on others' positive responses that they shape their words, actions, and even their beliefs around what others want to hear. In what areas of your life do you most consistently people-please? What are you afraid will happen if you don't?
3.John 12:42-43 records that some Jewish leaders believed in Jesus but refused to confess it publicly because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. That is a sobering passage. How does the fear of disapproval today keep people from being honest about what they actually believe or where they actually struggle?
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