Thursday's Thought: Proper Praise VS Prideful Praise

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
(Proverbs 27:2 ESV)

There is a two-fold temptation in ministry when it comes to Prideful Praise. The first is praising yourself with your own mouth. I'm really good at this one. I boast about myself, I point out my strengths, I tend to hide behind stories of victories rather than failures by telling them over and over again. I tend to brag about myself because I want to know that I've accomplished something. Sometimes, I even want to know that I've done better than someone else.

My assumption is that I'm not the only one who praises themselves - otherwise there wouldn't be a Proverb written like the one above. Whenever I'm around other Youth Ministers, the conversation can quickly turn to "How many are you running?" Or, "We did this event and had ____ students show up." I thoroughly enjoy meeting up with old friends and discussing our ministries - so long as we talk about what God is doing and not what we have done ourselves.

There has only been one time when a fellow believer has asked me, "So what are you teaching your kids?" rather than "So how many kids do you have?" The question caught me off-guard. I'm usually prepared to explain what our process is for worship on Wednesdays or how our small groups are divided for Sundays. But someone actually asked me "what" rather than "how" or "how many."

The question was both refreshing and convicting.

I was relieved that someone cared about what I was teaching. At the same time I was nervous about my answer. Not because I didn't know what I was teaching, but because the question immediately brought this verse to mind:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1 ESV)

Suddenly I felt the weight of this text again. When all is said and done and I breathe my last, or Christ returns, Jesus isn't going to ask, "How many students did you have?" Rather, He'll ask, "So what did you feed My sheep?"

The second temptation is to think that the praise from "another" should be everyone else telling you what a great job you've done. But the more I pondered this, the more I realized that Proper Praise from another should be the praise we receive from our Master by how we managed what He's given us:

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ (Matthew 25:21 ESV)

For those of us in ministry, we know that as teachers we will face a stricter judgment. So which question will be on the forefront of your mind: "How many students did you have?" or "What did you feed My sheep?"

Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds,
for riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
(Proverbs 27:23-24 ESV)

"So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." (1 Peter 5:1-4 ESV)

(Another good read is this post by Mark Driscoll called, "Dear Hireling")

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