“Everyone wants to be liked and appreciated,” my friend said. Perhaps. But not everyone lusts for applause. Some want applause so badly, they are willing to sacrifice their integrity.
Have you ever enjoyed something so much, that you wondered how others manage to live without it? For some ministers and other church leaders, the desire for applause can become so important that one might begin to do whatever it takes to gain the approval of another. A friend of mine recently referred to this as “the lust for applause.” I have never thought about one’s craving for applause as being lust but that is exactly what it is.
One of the great sins of Christian ministry is that its leaders, preachers, elders can get shackled by a lust for applause. It can become intoxicating and addictive. A preacher can be so focused on gaining more and more applause that sermons become not a ministry for spiritual formation of a church, but rather a means to approval, affirmation, and recognition.
Consequently, when there is no applause or affirmation of one’s sermon or a particular project, this can be devastating. You might think that something is wrong with you. You might even think that you are lacking or inferior in some way. Silence might be interpreted as rejection or failure to a preacher.
When there is an opportunity to hear an affirming word, the moral lines can become blurry when another person does communicate affirmation. One can lust after affirmation to the point that he becomes engaged in situations with others that might be compromising and harmful.
Of course, there are many other ways that ministers can seek to satisfy this lust for applause. On social media a minister may compare the number of friends he has as compared to other preachers. A minister may be far too concerned with who is speaking at certain lectureships or special events on Christian college campuses. I remember hearing one preacher almost gloat as he talked about a class he was teaching at a particular lectureship and how it was “standing room only. He continued, “They were even in the hall trying to get in to hear me.” Such statements may reveal more about this preacher than the popularity of a class.
Beware of the lust for applause.
- The lust for applause can cause us to compromise our integrity.
- The lust for applause can cause one to focus more on who seems to be winning than on who is really serving.
- The lust for applause can cause me to be less concerned about what delights God and more concerned with what might give me some kind of advantage with another.
- The lust for applause can allow Satan to get a foothold in my heart. I may choose to do whatever it will take to get the applause of one more person.
It is human nature to enjoy affirmation and appreciation. However, when the lust for applause fills my heart, I may find that I am worshipping the idol of self.
I have had to wrestle with this one. Maybe more than anything, what has helped is prayer and honestly confessing this to God. That is only a beginning but at least it is a beginning.
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