Monday Reading: Proverbs 27:21
Key Verse: Proverbs 27:21
21 As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so is a man to his praise.
Devotion:
One of the surest ways of finding out what a person is really like is to give them raises for something they have done. That person will do anything from the two extremes of accepting the praise with an eagerness that can only show pride and conceit to rejecting the praise in it's totality; neither end of the scale would we really appreciate...
Key Verse: Proverbs 27:21
21 As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so is a man to his praise.
Devotion:
One of the surest ways of finding out what a person is really like is to give them raises for something they have done. That person will do anything from the two extremes of accepting the praise with an eagerness that can only show pride and conceit to rejecting the praise in it's totality; neither end of the scale would we really appreciate...
If we wanted to get the most out of fine metals such as gold and silver, we would have to refine them. To do so, one places them in heat of the highest that they can take so that the impurities get burned of, leaving the true metal behind. Giving someone a whole lot of praise would have the same affect on them. All of the pretences that they hold up will almost certainly get dropped. If that person were to accept the praise and make themselves proud, conceited, boastful, even scornful of others... then that person is taking the praise straight to there head thinking that they are the ones that deserve all of the praise... That praise should not be taken up in ourself but transmitted to those that actually deserve it. We may have been the ones that have had to do the hard work, we may even have had to fork up the money... but where has that all come from in the beginning – who has made it all possible to start with?
God is the one that deserves the praise for the things that He allows us to get involved in and to do. God alone is the Designer. God alone is the Creator. How can we really take the honours when we know that He is the one that has made it all possible...
If we get praised for doing things, then we have to accept that praise in the right light. Not only has God allowed us to do that which we have done, but that praise should be a guide to us to show us what we have done right. That praise should encourage us to continue to do that which is right. It should encourage us to show more respect to those praising us. It should encourage us to stay clear of that which may bring us down. Praise should guide us in the direction of the truth. If we are able to endure good and evil, able to endure both good praise and rejection, and still come out the other side the same (or better), then we have succeeded in showing that we a true.
Points to Ponder:
How does praise affect you?
How does praise affect you?