How to stay humble when people give you praise

This practice has helped me stay low amid applause

Staying humble is one of the most important things we can do ask Christians.

One of the verses etched in my head is James 4:10 which says that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

This means that God actually will go out of his way to stop his people who are proud. Instead, he will get behind people who walk humbly before him.

So staying humble is key.

Yet one of the challenges in living out your calling is that you’re going to get praise. And this can make us not humble.

Don’t get me wrong - praise is great. You should get praise. You should get encouragement. When people’s lives are touched, when the devil is getting scared, and the darkness is fading at the work of your hands, you will definitely get praise.

But praise can turn a dark corner and make us prideful (the opposite of what God wants!) Praise can whisper secret things in our hearts, “Yah you are great” and even whisper dangerous things like, “You don’t need God; you can do it all on your own!”

How do you stay humble while getting praise?

I’ll tell you a piece of wisdom I heard from my seminary professor that has stuck with me today. It’s this:

Let praise be a window
Let criticism be a mirror

In other words, when praise comes to you. Let it pass through you like a window.

As in… give it to someone else! Don’t absorb it. Don’t bask in it. Don’t marinate in it nor dwell on it. Let it pass through you and onto others. This could be other people on the project, other people in the company, and most importantly–God!

And when criticism comes, let it reflect on you like a mirror. Let it be a tool to analyze and assess your life. Even if done poorly, in a wrong spirit, with ill intent, use it as a mirror to see your life.

I find that if you can do this, you can put the incoming praise in its proper place. You can let praise go to others.

And you can let criticism be a tool to help shape you instead of destroying you.

I have found this simple but powerful axiom has served me really well when people give both plentiful praise and plentiful criticism.

Bonus: Deflect Praise onto Jesus with “Isn’t he amazing?”

One of the most powerful things spiritual leaders can learn to do is to deflect praise onto Jesus.

Here’s a real-life example of something I will use often:

Someone: “Phil you did soooo amazing with x, y, z!”
Me: “I know! Isn’t Jesus amazing??”

I know it sounds weird, but it works every single time.

I notice something every time I do that–something shifts in the atmosphere. First, my heart is turned towards the Lord and I give him first honor. Second, everyone who is giving praise suddenly becomes aware of Jesus’ amazingness. This is something that we want!

Try this little saying anything you get praise and experience the atmosphere shift in your conversation.

How are you going to handle praise?

How does the axiom “Let praise be a window and criticism window” work for you?

Let me know in the comments or reply to this email!

You were made for greatness,
Phil

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