Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised. (Proverbs 27:21)Praise can hurt you more than criticism.
There are several movie stars who have fallen on hard times. They are still well known names but they have not had a hit movie in a long time. In fact, all of the movies they star in are, quite frankly, stupid ones.
When talking about one of these people, a columnist made the comment that his problem was that he surrounded himself with “yes men”. He said that there was no one on this actor’s staff who would say no. no one would tell the actor that what hew as doing was a bad idea. All they did was sit around, agree with the actor and get paid.
So, as a consequence, he does foolish things and is falling in popularity
In the Old Testament, people would come in as kings, but would listen to the wrong people and soon be removed by God. They only listened to people who told them what they wanted to hear and they lost their crowns.
The problem with being popular is that you get so many people telling you how great you are and sooner or later you begin to believe your own press. You don’t have any check or balance to help you know what is right.
Pastors have this problem sometimes, as do politicians, or anybody in a position that is one of any degree of power. As long as people tell you that you are great, and there is no one to tell you otherwise, or you don’t listen to those who have constructive criticism, you will have problems.
A lot of praise can kill you.
That is much of the problem with our children today. At school, they are told that everything they do is great, that they are special little snowflakes (none alike). Then when they get out into the world with its job demands and all, they do not know what to do.
Criticism builds character. Yes, constant criticism is harmful and degrades the spirit. But constant praise makes you think you are invulnerable and causes you to overlook building opportunities in your life.
I prefer praise to criticism, that is for sure. But it is criticism that caused me to grow and change.
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