Umm, yes. Anything that promotes thinking before acting is miles ahead of knee-jerk reactions, in my opinion. Forms of seeking approval: consulting conscience/knowledge of ethics or laws, praying, seeing what others are doing, asking permission... None of those are inherently bad. But like all things, extremes make good principles bad.
Everyone seeks approval in one form or another. Even those that deep down know the extent of their evil still want approval. Stalin, for instance, had anyone who badmouthed him killed. He was very, very evil. But he didn't want to be called such. He wanted people to approve of him. To some degree the desire to seek approval is good. There are many people who don't commit a particular crime or sin because they wonder what their neighbors, or their family, or whatever, would think of them. But then again, people do some stupid things just to gain approval. I think it is great to seek approval from the right source and for the right reasons. But approval can also be used for great evil if it is looked for from the wrong source.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I do think that social needs and approval can help to keep people in check. Also, I think it is natural to need some affection and validation. The absence of affection and validation would be lonliness. A person can be driven too much by seeking approval and at times this may lead to bad behavior. Also, there are some cultures where saving face is so important that they would kill themselves. Other cultures would kill a family member who brought the family shame although the person who brought the shame may have been a victim of the crime. We do need to be able to hold our heads up when we go against what is popular or if we fall and are going through the repentance process, we need to be strong against the tide of gossip.
If we did not need approval from others, life may seem rather cold unless we were perfect and this lack of need would be due to the well of love that we all draw from.
I can't speak for anyone else, but sometimes I wish I didn't seek for approval as much as I do. I'm in my 30s and finally starting to feel like I can really be myself. I think.
Is that okay?
-- Edited by arbilad at 20:41, 2007-03-15
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
I removed it for you. It's what happens when you hit the "quote" button and don't enter anything.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
How come all of the posts have "preview" listed after each one????
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
Yup, it seems they've been making some changes. For instance, I can now see your IP address listed on every post, instead of having to go to the administration panel to see it.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
jason 
What's that null thing in my post?
