Proverbs 27:21

Does getting a compliment feel like going through the fire to you? It doesn’t for me either. I may feel a little heat under the collar and turn a shade of pink, but I have never thought of praise as a furnace, as our proverb suggests.

Most likely the praise this proverb is referring to is recognition, awards and, in general, rising to the top among our class, workforce or colleagues in some hobby, sport or community endeavor. When praise results in a promotion to a position of leadership, our reaction to being in control, even just a little control, is the greatest test of our character.

Whereas men are forever and always trying to be king of the mountain, women are control freaks. It’s the same disease, just different manifestations of it. We all want control. It’s one of those natural desires that can become a positive force under God’s guidance or a negative, highly destructive force when employed for evil.

Anybody can have control – just get a pet and you are lord and master over a helpless kitty cat or puppy dog. It’s just not the same as ruling people though. Making a dog sit before getting a treat doesn’t satisfy like being another person’s boss. That kind of control isn’t as easy to come by as simply adopting a pet.

It does seem that some people have authority dropped in their laps, never having put out much effort to earn it. And, true to our proverb, the authority becomes their furnace. People of weak character who didn’t earn their position of authority usually go out in flames – some are slow burning, some go in a flash.

Most of us rise to the top through a combination of natural talent, hard work and perseverance. Hey, I’m talking about you right now! You don’t have to be an academy-award winner to be the crème de la crème. If you even got a speaking part in the high-school musical, you are tops!

When I first considered this proverb, I thought, “I don’t know anything about that. I’ve never had any significant praise.” It’s true, I’m not a household name, but I’ve been rising to the top for decades now. I’ve been in supervisory positions at work since I was a sophomore in college. And now I’m an award-winning editor-in-chief of a nationally circulated magazine. That may sound like something to you, but it doesn’t seem like much to me because I know that, practically speaking, that translates into sitting in front of a computer screen eight hours a day (crickets chirping in the background – literally!). A UPS delivery is major commotion around my office! (You should hear the dogs bark – the ankle-nipper goes nuts!)

Then I reflected on all the authority that comes with my position. I have a flock of free-lance writers cawing out for writing assignments and public relations people hounding me in hope of a little bone of media coverage for their client. Then there’s my production staff – I’m not their real boss because they are all self-employed, but they want to please me anyway so I’ll continue to use their services. I have a lot of power (muahahaha!), but it took some reflection for me to figure it out – and that’s a good sign! I take it to mean the altitude of my title is not affecting my reasoning.

You’d be surprised though – I always am – at how some people, when given even the most miniscule amount of control, take it on as if they were Castro and it their own personal Cuba. Even more frightening, is that we see this often in churches. Thank God I go to a small church without a lot of control issues. However, I know of another little church down the road, with fewer than 20 in the congregation, which is plagued by constant power struggles. Almost every adult member of the congregation has some title or office which they take much too seriously. It’s a congregation of a dozen personal agendas. I wonder what God thinks about all that. I don’t have to wonder what God has to do with it though. It’s God’s house, yes, even that little hornet’s nest of a congregation gathers in God’s name, and it seems that God is using it as a furnace for those individuals. I pray they come through the fire purified.

How are you going to handle power and authority? It’s not long before it’s coming your way if you don’t already have a portion. Are you going to be the person people talk about in whispers? “Everything has to be her way.” “She acts like the world revolves around her.” “The only opinion she cares about is her own.” Or are you going to be the kind of leader that rolls up her sleeves, gets down and dirty with the rest to get the job done and ignores the fact she even has any authority until a real need to exercise it comes along?

Will power unveil in you an ugly ego or will it strengthen your commitment to others?

Hold this thought: I won’t let praise and power go to my head.