Accepting compliments

I struggle with compliments. It's part of my issues with identity and self-worth. Sometimes there's an element of false modesty to try and evoke more compliments, but sometimes it's just real uncertainty and uncomfortablness with being praised.

Yesterday I started reading "Small Preaching: 25 Little Things You Can Do Now to Become a Better Preacher" by Jonathan Pennington and his first point was about accepting compliments. He pointed out that we ought to accept compliments and there is a right attitude to do so.

Why preachers (and all of us) need to accept compliments

God has given us certain gifting, skills and talents. It is not wrong to acknowledge that and deflecting to "oh it's all God" is a form of false modesty. Yes, everything comes from him but we should acknowledge and be aware of the giftings he has given us.

From the other person's side, it can also be rude to rebutt their praise with false modesty. Someone wants to encourage you or thank you and you Jesus juke them? That doesn't make them feel better.

The dangers of receiving praise

For me, I needed to read Jonathans point about accepting praise. But I know that others (and probably me in the future) need to hear his inital point: we need to handle praise carefully too.

Praise can inflate our egos and make us believe that only we could preach for this church. That our value comes from our preaching (or other talents) and how other people percieve them. We can start tailoring our sermons or activities to elicit praise rather than other pastoral needs.

An identity centred on Christ

When our identity and value are rooted in Christ, we can accept praise from others without it inflating our ego or causing discomfort.

I'm so grateful that Jonathan's book started by addressing this issue. It's one that's extremely relevant for me at the moment and touches on many issues we're discussing at church.

I hope this post has blessed you too.