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Why Does God Tell Us to
Praise Him?
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.
Not
very many of us like the person who demands to be constantly honored, revered,
admired, and assured of how wonderful he or she is.
Do you like that kind of person?
Furthermore do you like the kind of people who do that for that kind of
person, the kind of person whose flattery keeps them in the loop of the one whom
he is praising.
Why
then would God want to be viewed as the kind of Being who demands praise and why
would God want us to be like subservient “flatterers” out to appease our
superior for self-serving reasons?
Perhaps
the answer lies in the nature of praise.
Praise is not praise if it is demanded.
Nor do we feel someone is worthy of praise if that person demands it.
Yet we all know when we see something worthy of praise, not because a lot
people deem the thing praiseworthy, but because it is praiseworthy in and of
itself. It has intrinsic not
just conferred value. Most of
us have a seen a sunset or work of art or waterfall or another spectacular of
nature and have been moved to praise because it was a spontaneous expression of
wonder. I watched the
NBA finals and was moved to praise at the intrinsic beauty of a team coming
together and playing “beyond themselves” because of their humility and
enhancement of one another’s play.
Furthermore
is it not true that all praise spontaneously overflows into praise?
As CS Lewis puts it, “the world rings with praise, lovers praising
their beloved, hikers praising nature”.
Healthy people praise. Unhealthy
people don’t. Cynicism
brings death. Delight, praise, and,
yes, worship of that for which the ultimate praise is due brings life.
One
other thing is true. Is it
possible to fully enjoy something without telling someone, without the
exclamation, “how wonderful! Did
you see what I saw?" Is
not all delight incomplete until it is expressed?
“Lord, before all beauty, before all wonder, before all delight there is You. Every good and perfect gift is from You and is a reflection of You. Therefore I praise You, not for what You do for me, but for who You are, yet, in doing so, my praising You itself brings life. Amen”
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more:
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