Psalm 146 Whose priorities we embrace, what His work is, and what we are called to do too as we work with Him.

    Praise the Lord, my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live,

    singing praises to my God while I exist.

Do not look to nobles,
    nor to mere human beings who cannot save.
 When they stop breathing,
    they return to the ground;
        on that very day their plans evaporate!

Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord his God,

maker of heaven and earth,

  the seas and everything in them,

       forever the guardian of truth.

who brings justice for the oppressed,

    and who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord frees the prisoners; 

     the Lord gives sight to the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.

    The Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord stands guard over the stranger;

   he supports both widows and orphans,

       but makes the path of the wicked slippery.

The Lord will reign forever,
    your God, Zion, for all generations!

Judge righteous judgment, John 7:24

I have been thinking about the difference between appreciation and approval. I believe that approval is generally a favorable judgment about someone, or about something that has been proposed or done, due to the merits of that someone or something. Appreciation, on the other hand, involves gratitude for that person or thing, and does not have to include an analysis of the quality of that person or thing, but simply an understanding of the good motives, principles and vision, etc. in the effort, individual, undertaking or thing that is being appreciated.

I believe that all of us are a mixed bag of imperfections and so are not prone to approve of ourselves very often if at all. And we are correspondingly constantly tempted to disapprove of and therefore be disppointed by others or by the outcomes of their efforts. However, we live a far healthier life if we allow ourselves to appreciate ourselves and our efforts, and others and their efforts without, every single time, also encumbering our appreciation with grim shades of disapproval about the things that are less than perfect.

"Judge righteous judgment." (John 7:24) Righteousness involves the virtue of gratitude. And, if you think about the situation referred to in John 7:23: the healing of a man on the Sabbath,  appreciation and gratitude are exactly what the people mentioned in John, chapter 7, got called out on failing incorporate into their response to another's efforts to do good In a way that they deemed imperfect.

A life that has appreciation towards self and others, and gratitude towards others and God, woven throughout it is a sweeter, heathier life.

You came with a unique gift

Each person comes to earth with a unique gift.  As your life unfolds and you take on the work of this life, the task is to put that unique gift at the service of the good work you do.

Your gift doesn't dictate what kind of work you do, but it does play mightily into how you personally do it.

Therefore, resist the temptation to compare the nature of your performance in your good work with the nature of another's performance of a similar good work.   Instead, appreciate the opportunity you have been given to incorporate your unique gift into your good work,  appreciate the diversity around you as others do their good work around you, and enjoy the process