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Dec 28, 2025 06:00am

You Don’t Have to Earn God’s Approval—Here’s Why

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“So, no matter what I do, I’ll never get an A in your class?”

Frustration, astonishment, anger, rejection… a flood of emotions swept over me as I faced one of my college professors.

She was known to have favorites—students she liked for one reason or another. Most of the time, it was those who flattered her and played into her ego.

But I was not one of them.

I realized it early in the semester. Her replies to me were quick and dismissive, when she responded at all. Even when I raised my hand with confidence, she rarely called on me.

So, I adapted. I watched the students she favored, and when it was time to choose partners for our big group project, I joined one of their groups.

The work was enjoyable. There were three of us, one of whom was a football player. He was kind but often absent with practices and workouts. Since we wanted a good grade, we carried most of the workload.

But there I was—standing face-to-face with her, those eyes peering over red-rimmed glasses as if to belittle me.

“We are in the same group. I did the same amount of work she did. How could she get an A and I get a C?”

She smirked. “I know her. I know what she’s capable of, and I’m certain she did the majority of the work.”

My jaw clenched.

Why didn’t she know me? I couldn’t attend every event or participate in her club. I wasn’t in the sorority she was an alum of. I was trying to pay for college, working almost every night. There wasn’t time—or money—for all the extras.

“I have done everything she has in this class. I’ve made good test scores, participated in class, completed all the homework, and now I’ve done my fair share and more in this group. And you’re telling me I still get a C?”

“Yes.”

“So, no matter what I do, I’ll never get an A in your class?”

“Correct.”

And that was that.

I left the class, went to the dean, changed my major. I was done. If this was what made up the PR world, I wanted no part of it.

There’s no room for favoritism.

Galatians 2:6–8
“And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, just as He had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.”

I love this addition in Paul’s letter: God has no favorites. Isn’t that refreshing? And such a beautiful reminder that it is His grace and His work on the cross that paid the debt for our sins.

Not anything I can do. Not any amount of ministry work I accomplish. It’s not how many times I enter the church building, how many prayers I pray, or how many days in a row I open my Bible—none of these things earn me favor in God’s eyes.

Our hearts should yearn to pursue those things, but not to be found worthy. Our worth—our acceptance before the Lord—was earned by Jesus alone. It is His righteousness that covers us.

Listen, we are all in this together. If you are a believer in Christ and have trusted in His saving grace, you are clothed in the same robe of righteousness as all other believers.

Take joy in that today! Their home is Heaven, and so is ours! Encourage other believers when they struggle, continue serving the Lord with gladness, and rejoice in His finished work on the cross.

Do you want to know more about this beautiful gift of salvation from the Lord? Go to follow.lifeword.org and let me show you who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him.
Also available in Spanish — follow.lifeword.org/spanish.