Tested by Praise

Haiku Deck

We know:

Riches tempt us.

Pleasure allures us.

Lust entices us.

Suffering tries us.

But do we consider the praise of others as a temptation?

We should!  Satan is subtle and he often uses the praise of others to get us believing in our self-suffiecientcy.  He uses the praise of others to produce pride in our hearts.  We allow ourselves to be defined by the praise of others, rather than who we are in Christ.  We are ripe for the fall.

[notice]“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise” (Prov. 27:21)[/notice]

We must be encouraged by the praise of others, but we must not believe the hype!  Following our Lord Jesus, means living a humble life that reflects glory to God!  We are the moon, He is the sun!

Our Lord stands as one who was less self-suffiecient than all other men, yet he seemingly had the most reason to be so.

This temptation of pride is difficult to see in our own lives.  Thus, we must be on guard.

How do you handle the testing of praise?  

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,”

(1 Peter 5:5–6)