Proverbs 27:21
“The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, and each is tested by the praise accorded him.”
Praise tests you. It will reveal in you either a spirit of humility or a spirit of pride. Do you seek the praise of people? Do you derive your sense of identity and value from what others think of you, or do you find your identity in Christ?
Testing is part of life in Christ. “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.” (Proverbs 17:3)
The picture that is painted is that of a crucible and a furnace. These two things are used to refine silver and gold. The process begins with the ore being put into the crucible. As the heat increases the valuable metal sinks, while the dross (the impurities) rise to the top. The dross is then scraped from the top of the crucible, and what is left is refined gold or silver.
In a similar way, we are tested by the situations of life, and one of those “testings” is when praise and success come our way. When this happens, we are faced with a choice. We can either indulge our ego and think we really are awesome, or we can be humble and acknowledge that the great things in our life are a byproduct of God’s grace and goodness.
The opposite of humility is ego, which is when we have the audacity to think we are the cause of our own greatness. The moment we fail to recognize the role that God’s grace and gifts play in our success, in that moment we have failed the test.
Remember James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.” Nothing we have is from our own hand. God gave us the skills, talents, abilities, and opportunities. Receive a compliment for being faithful with what he’s given, but don’t forget that he is the one who gives (and takes away).
Another revealing test is how a person reacts when someone else receives praise, but they don’t. We’ve all been there. Someone comes up and compliments the person standing next to us, but neglects to give us a compliment. When someone else is praised and you aren’t, what happens in your heart? Jealousy? Anger? Resentment? Discouragement?
We should really only care about the praise of the Audience of One. If we never receive a single nice word from another human being, but the Lord says, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” then we have received the highest praise of all. So, when someone else is complimented and you aren’t, give thanks that God allowed that other person to be encouraged, and remember that one day the One who alone is worthy of all praise will tell you just how proud of you he is.
Let us therefore be wise and take any praise given to us and give it to God. May we realize that the good and great things in our lives are ultimately gifts of the grace and mercy of God.
