Learning to Love the Glory and Praise From God More Than From Men

    We have spent the past few weeks looking at what it means to give God the glory due His name and how we can glorify Him, but there are also many verses in the Bible that speak of receiving glory and praise from God, so I would like to spend our next few weeks, if the Lord wills, to dig into the topic of ‘Learning to Love Glory From God.’

Do You Love Praise and Glory from Man More Than Praise and Glory from God?

    This is an area that I struggle with, and maybe you do, too. We want affirmation, we want to hear that what we are doing is good; we want to be appreciated for our efforts, in the form of a kind compliment or even words of praise. Sometimes those words get showered on us, whether we desire them or not and sometimes there is nary a droplet of praise for our continuing hard work.

    No matter where you consider yourself – desiring praise or content without it - I would like you to take this “quiz,” consider the statements carefully as you examine your own heart.

*Note: These statements are not original to me. I found them online and thought them helpful. They are written by Sarah Walton (I do not endorse her, or anything else she has written, as I have no knowledge of her work beyond this information I have chosen to share), from an article she wrote titled, “Are you Seeking the Glory of God or the Glory of Man?” (April 6, 2016). This is an excerpt from her article.

Indicators That You Love Man’s Glory

• You measure success by what you see and feel in the moment (eg: if others don’t appreciate what you’ve done or your work isn’t flourishing, it must be a failure and not worth continuing)
• You are motivated/unmotivated in your work, friendships, church, etc. by the praise or lack of praise of those around you.
• Your decisions are often driven by what others think.
• You are easily discouraged, irritated, or angry when your efforts are not appreciated by others or when others receive credit for something you’ve done.
• When others praise you, you begin to feel self-confident in your own abilities, rather than rely on the Lord to lead and provide.
• You are more drawn to the type of work and serving opportunities that will be noticed and praised by others.
• You struggle with competitiveness and envy when someone else succeeds or is given praise (even within the body of Christ)
• You measure success with a short term view, rather than an eternal one.
• You spend less time in the Word and prayer and more time perfecting your craft, skill, job, reputation.
• You only portray the admirable aspects of your life to those around you (in church services, on social media, etc.)
• You find comfort in making sure others see your pain and shower you with attention because of it.
• Your relationships only go so deep that your struggles are not revealed (eg: keep people at “arm’s length”)
• Your emotions and how you feel about yourself are constantly swayed by what you assume others think of you.
• You only share a surface level of your faith out of fear of offending someone or giving the perception that you’re weak, strange, narrow-minded.

Indicators That You Love God’s Glory

• You find joy in Christ’s name being exalted, even if you receive no attention or praise in the process.
• When others praise you, you feel genuinely humbled, undeserving, and overwhelmed by God’s grace in your life.
• You persevere in doing good and find joy in serving Christ, even when it isn’t glamourous and goes unappreciated.
• You find pleasure in exercising unique abilities God has given you, no matter the outcome or level of success it brings.
• You are excited for those who do well and compassionate and gracious toward those who fail.
• You do not measure success by the world’s terms, but by the truth of God’s word.
• You are honest about your struggles, failures, and sin, recognizing you are always learning and growing alongside every Christian.
• You do not feel the need to portray a certain type of life on social media and do not need a certain amount of likes, comments, shares, friends, or followers to feel good about yourself.
• You respect church leadership (and others) with the goal of glorifying Christ, rather than needing to be seen and heard.
• You seek to know and pursue what Christ values more than climbing the ladder of success and seeking what the world values.
• You extend grace and forgiveness to those around you, seeking unity in Christ rather than self-protection and justice/revenge.
• You do not feel threatened or intimidated by those who seem to be more spiritually mature than you, but you humbly desire to learn from others, knowing we are all in different places in our faith.

    Think of these things today and over the next few days, as the Lord wills. Ponder them in your heart and mind, analyze your own thoughts and actions over the next few days and be truthful with yourself. Then next week we will begin to learn how to love praise from God more than from man.

    Are you ready and willing? Me, too!