Discover His heart: He tests our hearts to keep us pure
I once heard a great preacher say after a grand and glorious introduction and thunderous applause that his greatest troubles would begin if he started to believe the introductions he received. Let’s hear it for humility!
Through the years, many books have been written about humility, many of them with an edge of humor, books like Humility and How I Achieved It, (C.Neale) and How to Stay Humble When You’re Smarter Than Everybody Else. (B. Goode) Interesting concepts, to say the least! The definition of humility is “humbleness, modesty, unassuming nature, meekness – a way of behaving that shows that you do not think that you are better or more important than other people.” I guess most of us could take a dose of that.
@Proverbs 27
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.” (21) The original process of testing the purity of gold involved lead, silver and gold heated together in a 2000° F oven until the gold and silver melted and their impurities adhered to the lead. After cooling, the silver and gold were separated, and the final gold product was pure 24 karat gold. Needless to say, we won’t be trying this at home. While the testing process of a person’s humility seems very benign in comparison, how we respond in our hearts under the heat of praise and adulation reveals how pure we really are.
Some may feel they are still waiting for the opportunity to be tested by great praise, but most of us have felt the heat. We’ve felt that glow of warm fuzzies reaching all the way to our toes resulting from words of honor, admiration or praise from others at one time or another. If we survive without arrogance and pride rearing their ugly heads, we are the real deal, pure as gold.
True humility is not exhibited by a self-effacing attitude or by feelings of worthlessness. True humility is accepting our positions in life as God-given and doing our best with them through His divine help. With this attitude, should praise from others come our way, we know Who deserves all the glory and how preposterous it would be to assume it for ourselves. Another great reality check for us from the Proverbs!
Moving Forward: Once again, it’s all about you, Lord, it’s all about you! And that fact removes any pressure of determining who gets the glory.
Tomorrow @ Obadiah
Phyllis Benigas 