Nov 12 Ezekiel 22:23-31, Ezekiel 23 Hebrews 11:1-16 Proverbs 27:15-22
Prov 27:21
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.
A man is tested by his praise? What does this mean?
When you want to check how pure silver or gold are – you have to test them. For silver a crucible, and for gold a furnace – but result is the same – a heating up of the metals to test what impurities in it.
For people? It can be taken a few ways this, how is a man tested by his praise? Some may say that it’s shown through how he praises God – but that’s not the inflection of this sentence.
What’s most likely is that the testing for a man is how he reacts when he is praised. Does it go to his head? Does it lead him to feel boastful? It’s a good test of someone’s character when they are praised – impurities come to the surface. Praise can bring out the worst in people – and praise is certainly no reason to do something.
How we receive praise does illuminate what’s going on in our heart. How about you? What do you do when someone praises you?
Be careful it doesn’t go to your head. Praise, if handled incorrectly can lead to pride. This isn’t to say we shouldn’t praise each other – it’s good to encourage. Praise doesn’t cause pride to appear in someone, it causes what’s already there to rise to the surface.
