A more apt description was a people-worshiper. I was striving to gain the approval of those whose approval was of no eternal significance. I’d failed to see that the only approval that matters—God’s—is impossible to earn but is offered as a gift through the gospel. And it was the gospel that set me free. Gary had been right. I’d felt hopeless, but not hopeless enough. I knew Jesus died on the cross to save sinners from God’s wrath, enduring in our place the punishment we deserved. I understood that