Let Another Man's Lips Praise Thee?

Tuesday 3/28/2013 6:11 AM

My devotional theme for the week is liberty.  The prayers in my devotional book suggest that I pray for delivery from bondage to worries, habits and desires, good suggestions to be sure.  My assigned reading includes Colossians 2:18-19, “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.  Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.  They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”  This verse made me think about my need for the praise of others.  As a child I remember hearing people quote Proverbs 27:2, “Let another man’s lips praise thee, and not thine own.”  I think the verse is a warning against pride but I internalized it and it turned into an unhealthy need for the approval of others.

Sunday morning after church a woman told me her husband appreciated my comments in our Wednesday evening men’s Bible study.  I’m not exactly sure what she was referring to but I like to play the devil’s advocate in a group of like-minded people.  In groups like that it is easy to give a “churchy” answer to a question and then move on to the next question.  I want people to wrestle with the hard issues of life that often don’t have simple answers, the things that people struggle with every day to whom Christians often quote a simple verse and move on.  Sometimes I wonder why I am so drawn to playing that role.  Is it to make people wrestle with the issues or is it so that I can appear to be a deep thinker, someone in tune with the heart of God?

The verse above serves as a warning to me that I make sure that I don’t lose my connection to Christ, the head of his body, the church.  My desire for the praise of others and my desire to be seen as an intellectual or a deep thinker could easily drive me to invent clever scenarios or stories that make me appear smart but have little to do with the growth of others in their faith.  Lord, set me free from the need for praise from others.