No Longer Looking for Applause! - Rudi Louw - Bog

...Mankind exists in applause; our whole existence, our whole being is one that hungers for acceptance and positive recognition. We find the meaning for our lives in positive recognition. We cannot exist outside of positive recognition... and yet... we always get disappointed with our own performance, we never become satisfied ...our estimation of the worth and value of our lives remain in flux, and we end up miserable and worn out from our own self efforts... you see, when we do this, I'm measuring, I'm seeking desperately to measure the worth of my life in terms of my performance, in terms of my achievement, in terms of other people's approval of my life... Did you know that even if the whole world would stand on their feet loudly applauding you ...even though you manage to gain the whole world and their approval... their applause would be a mere inconsistent fulfillment in your life, a failing fulfillment, and there would soon appear within you a new hunger, a new motivation, a new drive for yet another experience that would exceed yesterday's triumph... another experience that would exceed all of man's approval! My book: "God's Measure versus Man's Measure," is a continuation of this subject. Make sure to read that one as well: -)