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“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold,
and
a man is tested by his praise.”
(Proverbs 27:21)
When we think of a Christian being
“gold” tested by fire, or perhaps silver being cleansed of dross, we usually
think of trials. We think of Christians
enduring hardships and pain, and so strengthening their faith. This is all perfectly sound and biblical, but
I believe there is little that tests a believer’s faith like praise.
History shows that when the Church
is under persecution, it grows stronger.
It’s when things are going well, however, that the real testing
begins. You see, trusting God in
persecution is relatively easy; we have virtually no choice but to fall back on
the Lord. (I use “easy” in the broadest
of ways here. Don’t get me wrong,
persecution is tough!) But when we’re
praised, we have a choice as to who’s going to be glorified in the situation.
While trials test our faith in God’s power through endurance, praise tests our true loyalty and love for our Savior.
Praise gives us an opportunity to
decide whether we will glorify God or ourselves. The problem is that most of the time we
choose the latter. As human beings, the
sin nature encourages us to seek praise.
Practically everything we do is influenced by what we think others will
think of us. Earlier in chapter 27 of
Proverbs, though, we’re given a piece of advice concerning praise:
“Let another praise you, and not
your own mouth;
a
stranger, and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2)
This exhortation shows us where
our focus should be – or perhaps more accurately, where our focus shouldn’t be: ourselves.
Praise shouldn’t be something we seek for ourselves, because the more we are glorified, the less Christ is glorified.
I think this is generally obvious,
but I’ve found that we often fail to realize some of the underlying ways in
which we seek praise. For instance, I
can sometimes be tempted to try to impress others by explaining how “busy” I
am. It’s easy to want to ensure that
others know just how rough I have it.
But what am I really seeking? The
truth is, I’m just looking for recognition – praise.
Recently, the Lord has been
showing me that if I do something noteworthy, whether it’s a sacrifice I make
or a kind gesture, I need to keep it to myself.
In fact, He’s been showing me that many times I need to do everything in
my power to prevent anyone from ever finding out something that might bring me
glorification!
This is truly what makes praise
the “testing fire.” Am I going to seek
that I be lifted up, or am I going to seek that Christ be lifted up? I need to be so Christ-focused, and
subsequently so others-focused, that I’m the last person to come to mind.
The purpose of my life is to bring
praise to Christ. Yes, I will receive
praise sometimes. But if my focus is in
the right place, the praise that is given to me will simply be reflected onto
Christ and those around me, and people will begin to see that I am not worthy
of any praise; my life will reflect the fact that the praise belongs to the One
Who has given me everything.