That single verse of scripture is truly profound. The purification process for gold or silver involves intense heat when the craftsman or jeweller melts down the precious metal in order to separate it from impurities. The heat deforms the gold/silver, turns from solid to liquid. So you'd think that the Solomon would liken our testing to that right. Intense heat and deformation. No. The true test of human character is praise.
How do you react when you begin doing well and you are praise. If you are an author like me, how would you react if your book suddenly sold a million copies. Would you become swell headed and pompous? Would you remember to be at the little church you go to every Sunday? Would you still feel the same way about feeding the poor and helping the broken? Would you change? It is something we see very often, people begging God to bless them and they wonder why He takes his time about it. It's simply because some of us cannot handle the "praise" test that comes with it.
Praise can be a good thing. Praise tells us that what we are doing is worth being done again. It motivates us to keep going and it pushes us to get better. But, praise can be our downfall if we allow our selves to become swell headed when it increases. If you start to treat people differently or you change the things that are important to you when you receive praise, you should check your pride levels.
Most of us would not realise when we are being prideful, but the people around us can smell our pride from a mile away. A certain level of pride in ourselves and our work helps keep the quality high, but pride can easily reach dangerous levels.
As you go through each day's successes, be happy, pat yourself on the back and say, "job well done" but remember; do not to allow yourself to be done in by praise.
Don't let praise be the test that fails your character.
Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret
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