“The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.” (v. 21)
It is difficult to respond with grace and kindness when people criticize you. Many times, people fall to the temptation of jealousy or anger because of the hurtful words of another person. We must be careful with our tongues because they can cause great pain to others, and we must be careful to run to the Lord for healing when others hurt us. Yet, it is often more difficult to navigate the praise of others than criticism. When people rebuke us, we can either examine ourselves to see if it’s true or write their words off as simply their opinion. The more subtle trap comes when we receive praise from others. At these times, we are tempted to do things for the praise of others or even take credit that rightly belongs to God.
I often struggle when receiving compliments. Either I accept them too quickly, forgetting that there is nothing good in me but God, or I respond awkwardly because I want to be sure God gets the credit and I am sufficiently humble. Truly, the praise of others is an even greater test of our character than criticism. When someone praises me for something, I have found it best to thank them for their kind words and also verbally thank the Lord in their presence. This habit is not meant to be a veiled rebuke of their appreciation for man but just a reminder to both of us that it is good to encourage each other and also good to remember God’s grace. God wants us to appreciate those who bless us, but He wants us to remember that all blessings ultimately come from Him. Be careful that you don’t allow the kindness of others to cause you to think more highly of yourself than God does.
