Wednesday, July 27, 2011

July 27th - Proverbs 27: Let Another Praise You

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.” – Proverbs 27:2

Humility seems to be a lost art these days. When someone excels at most any endeavor today, they feel that it is their personal responsibility to publish this news to the rest of the world. Now, this isn’t a problem to folks that have settled for mediocrity in their lives, but it can become a major problem for folks that have let God transform them into someone truly remarkable. In truth, the call of God on our lives is a HIGH call. We were meant for greatness!

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:14

Many believers overreact and they seem to think the solution to a lack of humility is for NO ONE to have anything to be proud of and an almost forced mediocrity ensues. If NO ONE succeeds, then no one has any chance to be proud. Some churches basically worship ignorance and poverty, celebrating people’s lack of proficiency. We do it in songs that celebrate struggle and a culture that celebrates failure.

This IS NOT humility.

Maybe you’ve heard it at YOUR church? “Well, I lost my job, my house was foreclosed on, my car was repossessed and my wife left me… but PRAISE THE LORD, I’VE GOT THE VICTORY!” Umm, no you don’t. You my friend are a loser and you need JESUS to make you a winner!

In our church, we CELEBRATE those who achieve success in ANY endeavor. Whether it is scoring a big account that means LOTS of money, someone that graduates college with honors, or if someone sees a major miracle or leads someone to Jesus, we are the first to celebrate people that are exceptional. When someone achieves something great, it’s OUR responsibility to praise them and laud their achievements, since they aren’t permitted to sing their own praises. People need recognition for their successes and we need to be the ones giving it to them! Let’s not force them praise themselves!

If you struggle praising others for their achievements, perhaps due to jealousy, then you might have a poverty mindset. Poverty says that there is a limited supply and there isn’t enough to go around. Poverty says that if Person A is achieving something, then they are holding Person B back in some way! We are not called to have a poverty mindset; we’re called to have an abundance mentality! God is a God of MORE than enough and we need to become more like HIM.

LIFE LESSON:
I’d pat you on the back, but your hand is in the way!

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