John 12:42-43 (NASBStr)
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
In Proverbs 29:25 it says that the "Fear of Man" is a snare. Peer pressure (our word for "fear of man") is such a compelling motivation. Men love to have the "approval" of other men. The word for approval in our text is the Greek word, "doxa." It is where we get our English word, Doxology. It is to sing the praise of, in a sense. We love to hear others sing our praises. It is a strong motivator for life. However, as seen above, it has an adverse affect on our relationship with God and our ability to follow Him when the praise of men supersedes our desire to have God's approval. It should be noted that Jesus is not saying that God sings our praises, but rather that our desire to be praised for our relationship for men can superseded our desire to follow and be known as a person who follows God. It is hard to believe that some men would sacrifice their very lives and eternal relationship with God to obtain a positive relationship in a "club" but that is exactly what John is telling us above. The religious leaders had come to a point of faith in the Christ and yet remained closet believers because they did not want to jeopardize their standing with men. Teens do this and we laugh with scorn. Adults do this and we call it good "politics." When we sell our faith to be find popular we demonstrate that we really don't have a faith and have not come to the place of "hating" our life for His sake (see John 12:25). As we go through our day we need to keep ourselves in check to assure we are not seeking the glory from men, but rather the glory for God.
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