Inside Out Living

This past Sunday I preached on James 3:13-18 about the wisdom that comes down from above.

NIV James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

In the message I put an emphasis on how we are to give evidence of our wisdom through the deeds that are done in humility. Now in talking about humility I put an emphasis on how we do not promote ourselves and the acts of service that we do. The reason for this emphasis is that the "selfish ambition" James speaks of in verse 14 refers to some who promotes themselves like a politician with an agenda.

So the question was asked by someone after church, a good question no less, that how can we give evidence of our wisdom if we are not to promote what we are doing. To him these two thoughts seemed to conflict, and in a way he was right.

So then how do we 'show' our heavenly wisdom by deeds done in humility without being guilty of promoting ourselves and trying to gain recognition. I think the answer lies in how it is found out what you are doing.

The point that James is making is that if you truly are wise and understanding then there should be some evidence in your life of deeds done in humility. And we know that humility comes from wisdom. He isn't telling us to promote or proclaim the good deeds that we have done, but rather if you are doing what you should be doing then more than likely someone will stand up and take notice.

Yes some deeds we do will not be recognized, which is more than ok because our Father who sees what we do in secret will reward us accordingly. However, more often than not someone will notice your acts of service and will see the humility present within your attitude and that will reflect the godly wisdom that you are indeed exercising.

So then it is possible to give evidence of wisdom through deeds done in humility without shamelessly calling attention to our service.

"Don't praise yourself; let others do it!" - Proverbs 27:2 NLT

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

This morning as I read Proverbs 27 I was struck by these two verses on opposite ends of the chapter. It got me thinking about how we are to rightly handle praise when it is offered. The first verse really sets the background for this discussion. I think we all know people or at least have heard people who do not practice this verse. They praise themselves up and down until the people around them are sick of it. I was watching a couple of reality TV shows with my wife last night that had some of those type of people on it. It just makes me sick when I hear them talk. If you or something that you have done is truly praiseworthy then other people will take note of that and will give you the praise that you deserve. However if you are praising yourself already, it doesn't matter who great you are or what you have done, other people will not heap praise on you in addition to what you have already said. This is why you should leave room for other people to do the praising.

So this leads itself to the second verse regarding praising. How is it that a person is tested by being praised. I think the testing is how we respond to the praise. Your response to other people's praise is a direct reflection of your humility, pride, self-confidence, and your understanding of your position in Christ.

True humility is evident when you are being praised. Humility responds to praise with honesty, integrity, and gratitude. A humble response is appreciative of the praise but does not gloat in it. A humble response also gives credit to others when it is appropriate. This is where the integrity comes in. If you used someone's idea or someone else helped you get the project done that you are getting praised for you had better give them some credit. The honest part of a humble response is recognizing that you did do a good job and it is appropriate for them to praise you. If the praise is getting out of hand or they are praising you for something you did not do then that is different. But don't show false humility by rejecting appropriate praise and discouraging the person who is trying to encourage you.

Pride and arrogance can become evident through the testing of praise. This problem sometimes can become such an issue some people will error on the side of caution and not praise others for fear that they will become arrogant. How can you avoid becoming proud because of the praise of others. Much of what was said before will come into play here. Giving others credit when credit is do is a big one, especially credit to God. Remembering that for everytime you did something right there are probably three other times that you actually blew it and had to ask for forgiveness and lean on grace. Basically I am talking about perspective. We have to keep our successes and failures in perspective.

Your self-confidence is evident in how you handle praise. If you are uncomfortable with the praise then you are probably lacking in some confidence. Know that you can accomplish great and significant things and anticipate that people can and will praise you at some point. To bolster your confidence remember these times because if you blow the next time you can be guarnateed that you will wish that the person would be praising you.

Your understanding of your place in Christ is also revealed when you are praised. Paul declared that he can do all things through Christ and that apart from Him he was nothing. Not just that, but also that Paul had died and it was in reality that Christ was living through him. This is so key to passing the test of praise. Remember that when you do something significant for the Kingdom of God the praise you are receiving is actually praise and thanksgiving to God. The success and significance of what you have done is only present because God chose to work through you and the praise that they are giving is in reality praise to God for using you.

Just some thoughts this morning on handling praise. I hope you will be able to navigate the testing of praise.