No Need to Thank Me

Proverbs 27:2
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;
a stranger, and not thine own lips.

How tempted we could be to praise our own works at times. Can I tell you something? That would be the flesh leading you to do so. I have been around some that I wanted to ask if it hurt or not. They were hard at work in slapping themselves on their own back.

Don't let these next things I say discourage you, but think about them. If your praise comes from yourself then wouldn't that be prideful and glorying in yourself? When you feel the need to tell of the things you do at work, or even the labor for God, this can lead to glorifying yourself instead of God. Now don't misunderstand me. When you are telling of what God has done in or through your life, Jesus always gets the glory. When you draw it out with "I, me, mine" that has a tendency to sound like self glorification.

Do this with me... Do your labor, whether for an employer or Christ Jesus, and let the labor speak. Let it show forth the glory of God. Don't bring praise and draw people to yourself, but rather let your praise be unto the Lord who has strengthened and guided you in this labor. If there is any praise , let it not come from your lips.

When I read this scripture I think of what I heard once about a woman who cut the grass, washed the car, clothes and dishes. She fed and changed all the babies, and even did the taxes. The man knowing he should also help, bent over and picked up a piece of trash that had fallen from the garbage can. Instead of throwing it away, he brought it into the room where his wife was and said, "Can you believe this fell out of the trash? I got it though, no need to thank me."