“Amma Sarah said, ‘If I prayed God that all people should approve of my conduct, I should find myself a penitent at the door of each one, but I shall rather pray that my heart may be pure toward all.’
Amma Sarah did not seek the approval of others; likewise, she remained nonjudgmental in her attitude toward others and their own journeys toward God. As in any other time in church history, there were strong personalities in Sarah’s day, but she did not follow fads. She sought to remain true to her own simple path toward God.” (Laura Swan, THE FORGOTTEN DESERT MOTHERS, p 39)
Amma Sarah reminds us that substance is far more important than appearance. But we sometimes are more worried about what people think of us than we are about doing the right thing. As Amma Sarah notes though if we want to live based on getting constant approval from everyone for our good behavior, we will end up also having to ask forgiveness from everyone when we can’t always live up to the task of getting their approval. From her comment, it is far more Christian to simply work on purity of heart and not worry about what others think of me. Her wisdom is expressed well in the prayer known as the “Litany of Humility” which in part reads:
From the desire of being esteemed 
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted
Deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved
Deliver me, O Jesus.
Fraternized 