"I don't like to brag, But . . . "

Tooting your own horn, bragging, call it what you will, no one likes to be around someone who is doing it. We've all heard them, they are the ones at parties that spend 30 minutes talking about themselves and all they have done and then in a moment of embarrassment stop and say I can't believe i've been talking about myself all this time, I need to stop and let you talk about me for a while. Proverbs 27:2 can’t be more direct. “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Not much hard to understand about that verse. We all give ourselves far to much credit sometimes for what we think we have accomplished. Proverbs simply says if you want to hear praise regarding yourself listen for it on the lips of others. It means what ever you have done has impacted their life in some way. They have seen in you something worthy of praise. The things we accomplish and work at do not always bring immediate results or recognition because the impact may not be seen right away. I guess the bottom line is that when it gets right down to it we should not be doing things for the praise of men. The reason we sing our own praises is so that we can get others to jump in and join us on the chorus. But we are called to humility, we are called to serve with our eyes on God and not the praises of men. It is so easy to love the praise of men that it can enslave us if we are not careful. We can become addicted to it. It becomes like a drug. We preach a sermon and stand at the door and everyone compliments us on the nice music, like the new tie, but say nothing about the sermon. Maybe they were in the nursery, no I saw them, they were in the front pew the whole service. Priming the pump sounds like this - “did you enjoy the sermon”, “did you get the card I sent, the mail can be so slow” not very subtle but trust me it works. They will probably say yes to be polite but it is a hollow victory. We need to be careful we do not get to the point where we “NEED” the praise of men and when we don’t get it we go fishing for it or get discouraged and want to quit. Proverbs is not saying the praise of men is wrong, it is saying don’t go priming the pump to get the praise of men by leading the cheer. The praise of men is nice and appreciated when it is given, but only when it is not sought after. There is really only one person you need to be working to hear say “well done” and that is our Savior Jesus Christ. Have your eyes on him, what ever we do we need to do for the glory of God not the praise of men. Bragging, seeking the praise of men is not the mark of a wise person, it is not found on the path of wisdom. If we are going to boast we need to boast in the cross alone. To God be the glory for what he has done in and and through us. Charles Spurgeon put if very well “Grace puts its hand on the boasting mouth, and shuts it once for all.”