Fame Is Just a Test

Proverbs 27:21: Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.

We have all heard of people "changing" when they get promoted or "power getting to people's heads", but here we have a verse that says that "fame" is just a test. This is meaning that when you get a like, recognition, a compliment, praise, accommodation, a promotion, or an award, it's actually a test to see how you respond. Do you take the glory and become prideful saying to yourself "Look what I have become and done on my own."? What do you do with accommodation? Many of us keep on the path of trying to get more likes and validation from employers, forgetting to take a step back and make sure the team around us also gets accommodation since we already got ours. We also forget sometimes the team who got us there because we get centrally focused on ourselves. How do you handle praise? What do you praise? Musicians? Athletes? Beauty? Looks? Wisdom? What you praise speaks of your character. Just click search on your Instagram feed and it will begin to generate photos of pictures similar to things and people you have praised. Puppies, weightlifters, the military, cars, and so on.

What you do with praise reflects who you are. A wise man or woman will give glory to God when they are praised. He created us so we thank Him for this. He gives us our talents, so we thank Him for the ability to steward them correctly. We do not know how long we will have the talents He gives us. He gives us the ability and health to work for our money. He gives us leadership abilities and opportunities, so we also thank Him. Today let's thank Him for every gift He gives us and every word of praise. Also, speak well of others but refrain from lifting yourself up.

Proverbs 27:2 "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." Many of us are constantly marketing ourselves and have little to no self-awareness. Don’t sell, attract. Use your tongue to praise others not yourself.

Comments

Failure is a Gift

I sat in the room, nervous. I had sensed this moment coming all week. Though I felt a small comfort and peace, deep inside, I was terrified. I was bracing for the letdown—far from my first. I made small talk with someone twenty years my junior, knowing that soon, he would ask me to step down. That reality was hard to face. My mind drifted back to my first year as a deputy. I had called my father repeatedly, distressed over my fifth write-up. Each time, he told me to thank them for the discipline, not to quit, and to keep my head up. But I was overcome with sorrow. I felt like a failure. Maybe I could earn straight A’s, but I had no common sense. I feared I would never catch on. I was beginning to give up. Still, my dad insisted I keep going. In my first week alone, I had discharged my weapon—firing over sixteen rounds at a bull on Super Bowl Sunday. Not long after, I found myself in a full-blown foot pursuit of an escapee, my face, mostly pride battered from the struggle. My track...

My Weapon is a Melody

Every day can be a battle. A battle for our hearts, a battle for our minds, a battle to discourage, a battle to get out of bed, a battle to be content in whatever state we are in, a battle to bless God even in the darkest times. Satan seeks to crush and destroy us. When we are so focused on our own pain and battles, we are less useful. Think of a nice shiny car, but with a broken hose. This small hose can cause the entire car to be out of commission. This too is how Satan works in our life. He may sit back and watch us break with the smallest hose. That is all he needs to put us out of service. Many of us have been out of service for quite some time. This is because we have so focused on goals or things that may be outside our purpose. How do we fight battles in our life and overcome them? What should our only purpose be? Praise and worshiping God. That is it. God is constantly seeking out people who just want to worship Him. We constantly ask for blessings in our life, but how many ...

Heart Attack

Valentine’s Day is approaching. It’s easy to love those who are kind to us, but what about those who are cruel? How do we love a bully? It takes a conscious effort to show kindness to someone who has deeply hurt us. But when we learn to love even those who have wronged us—without waiting for an apology—we are truly attacking the heart . This kind of love isn’t normal. It’s outrageous. It means wiping the slate clean, deleting the post , starting over—not for ourselves, but to please God. That’s it. We know that God has forgiven our wickedness, so why can’t we forgive others? This is a love that brings true reward. We often think we practice this kind of love, but do we really? The next time someone enters a room—the very person you’d rather avoid—what will you do? What if God led you to walk up to them and bless them? Would you do it for Jesus? The Cost of Heartache We demand payment for heartaches. We take people to court, punish, divorce, fight, and even kill over them. This has been...

I Am NOT Just a Number

Search This Blog