“Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her” (Proverbs 31:28).
Before I had children, I looked forward to my first real Mother’s Day, when my children would bring me little crafts and homemade cards and hugs. Now that my kids are really able to bring me sweet little gifts, I love it so much.
Some Jews have a wonderful Sabbath tradition, where the father and children bless Mom each Erev Shabbat, at dinner on Friday evening, just as Sabbath is beginning. Author Nancy Campbell writes of their family’s sabbath tradition,
My husband then reads Proverbs 31 and praises me. We love to invite others to join our Shabbat table and so we ask each husband present to share some lovely things about his wife. This is always such a precious time. Can you imagine being praised by your husband every week? Doesn’t it make you want to have a Shabbat meal right now?
There is a part of me, though, that doesn’t accept praise very well. I feel embarrassed, and I halfway wonder whether I really deserve praises at all. I even wonder if it’s right (spiritually) to accept praise from people. Doesn’t all of our praise belong to God? Isn’t it haughty to enjoy receiving praise?
“I am YHVH, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:8).
Apparently this issue is a little deeper than I first thought. I searched for verses that referred to blessing or praising people, and I learned some interesting things.
For instance, David wrote the entire 72nd Psalm in praise of his son Solomon, and he said,
“His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed” (Psalm 72:17).
But then he immediately followed that with
“Blessed be YHVH God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!” (Psalm 72:18).
God frequently speaks of the praise that will come to Israel and His city of Jerusalem:
“‘And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,’
Says YHVH of hosts” (Malachi 3:12).“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7).“‘Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,’
Says the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:19-20).
The common thread between all of these is that each time mankind is praised, it is because of what God has done for them or because of their righteous acts.
“…governors… who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good” (1 Peter 2:14).
“…A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God” (Romans 2:29, NIV).
“Blessed be the name of YHVH
From this time forth and forevermore!
Who is like YHVH our God,
Who dwells on high…
He grants the barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.
Praise YHVH!” (Psalm 113:2, 5, 9).
Receiving praise is such a motivation for us. Just as grades in school and promotions at work help us do our best work, receiving praise and blessing on a regular basis (such as each Sabbath day) will help us keep the joy in our daily grind. We don’t have to be praised by men, of course, because His Spirit will encourage us in His Word each day and by the peace by which He fills our hearts, and ultimately, we can receive His praise when we stand before Him someday. But receiving praise from our families can certainly give us some nice, warm fuzzies!
Here are some principles for when we receive praise from others:
- We should accept all praise graciously (“Why, thank you! instead of “Oh, no, it was nothing!”), turning all the glory back to our heavenly Father (“I could never have done that without His help” or “God gave me just the right verse for that this morning, and it was the help I needed”). I’m not very good at this myself, but it’s such an encouragement when I’m around those who are. God really does get all the credit!
- It’s wonderful to receive praise from your husband, because it shows you that he loves and cherishes you (Ephesians 5:28-29). It’s a sign of a healthy marriage. Be sure to express your appreciation for the compliments you receive! It shows that you are also giving respect to him.
- Children learn to give praise by receiving it, just as they learn all good manners by watching you. Giving praise to them is also known as edification, a word that means to build up, brick by brick, by encouraging and kind words. Be sure to praise and edify your children often! “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands” (Proverbs 14:1).
- You can check your motives with this verse: “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God” (John 12:42-43). When we lose sight of the One that we are to please—the One who sees us in the hidden places of our hearts—and rather we start to fear men, seeking their praise and acceptance—well, look out!
In closing, if you’d like to read more of some of the passages I discovered (and enjoyed), here are some places to start:
- Ways God blesses His people—Deuteronomy 28:1-14
- A man who chose to steal the praise away from God (and what happened to him!)—Daniel 4
- A woman who deserved a lot of praise and humbly directed it all to God—Luke 1:26-56
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture in this blog post taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
A friend wrote this to me, and I asked if I could post it here:
A thought about a husband praising/blessing his wife (thanks for the ezine). For me it goes back to [writing down daily blessings of the ways my husband has blessed me in] my Sweetheart journal. I used to be waiting for the extravagant compliment or dozen roses to feel special but decided I was missing the blessings. I was not paying attention to the little petals (individual ones) within that dozen roses. There was that look across the room of admiration, pouring my cup of coffee, sweeping the floor, asking the children to do me a favor……you put them altogether and you have one very big bouquet. Oh, how I need to be reminded. Would you believe I only have six pages left in my Sweetheart book and it will be FULL of blessings…..then on to the next diary I already have bought (with roses on the cover).