When praise meets godly desires, it does not deflect the gracious words. Praiseinspires gratitude towards God. One telltale sign of our maturity is how easily we transfer honor to God, recognizing him as the source and power of our performance. Why? Because when the heart is tested by this praise, it reveals we did it for his glory in the first place.

What comes to your mind when you think of being “tested”? For students, testing means awaiting a grade. From the lips of your doctor, testing triggers worry. During the pandemic, tests were a way to diagnose Covid 19. Maybe. 

My point is that, generally, testing feels like something we want to avoid. But Scripture mentions a surprising test which looks, at first glance, like an exam we all want and could easily ace. 

What Is the Surprising “Test”?

Solomon, the wisest man to ever live apart from Jesus, calls it the test of praise. “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise” (Proverbs 27:21).

Unwrap the metaphor. A crucible and furnace both play the same role for precious metals—they test by heat, causing impurities to rise to the surface. Solomon seems to be saying that praise jacks up the soul’s thermostat. Applause inflames desires that generate a different form of heat; a laser version targeting places in the heart untouched by sacrifices or suffering. 

Soloman is flagging the danger of loving praise. Or seeing it as an inalienable right. 

One of the more common places this surfaces is social media. An entire industry, worth billions of advertising dollars, is built on people’s proclivity to seek praise. For some, it’s a legitimized (and monetized!) pursuit of approval. People post pictures to hear how beautiful they are or what an amazing life they live. Tweets are written to be liked and passed along. Videos are created to gain a few more followers. We experience disappointment when a post does not elicit the response we expected. Even as I type those words, I think of myself. 

We are awash in a world that panders to praise. It’s a currency we generously spread around. Everyone’s a winner.

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