Acts 12- Deflecting Praise

How do you deal with praise? What happens in your soul when someone says something great about you? Herod gives us a great example of what not to do... "On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died" (Acts 12:21-23). 

What can we make of this? The first thing that I want to say is that there is a parallel between this text and the text of Isaiah 14:12-14 where Satan was cast down because he thought he will ascend to heaven and his throne will be above the stars of God. Pride. It is the deadliest of sins. It blinds us of our need for God and robs God of His godness. It places yourself on the throne and is absolute tyranny of the King of Kings. 

When Herod received the praise of man for his god-like stature, you have to read into the text the sin of pride. "He did not give praise to God, [therefore] an angel of the Lord struck him down (vs. 23). So, Herod enjoyed the praise. He took it to heart. He ascribed to himself the stature that he obtained. Herod, in fact, was quite the leader. He did accomplish many things with his life. He had built infrastructures that we still marvel at in the twenty-first century. He even constructed a mountain!? So he must have felt that he in some degree was a god. He did accomplish so much that maybe the people were right... wrong! So he was layed low.

This is a serious text. Because, if we are honest, we all climb on the throne. It is my favorite past time. Sitting on the throne and addressing people as the authority in my life is natural. I do a lot of great stuff, I deserve praise, I'm the king. Be honest, you do this too. So, why is the real king so gracious to us?

What is astonishing about this text is that I am not dead yet. That Herod got what he deserved but I haven't. I am a tyrant. I am a rebel against the King and yet he is so patient and gracious towards me. That is why the Bible tells us that His loving kindness draws us to Him (Jeremiah 31:3). When we see our rebellion and know that our offense is punishable by death, it makes us realize that His dealings with us are totally unfair and unwarranted. He does the opposite of what we would expect. He loves us, forgives us, redeems us, and clothes us with honor. That's why we praise Him. He is so upside down and backwards. 

So, next time you receive praise, think about that every good gift is from above, everything you have every experienced that is good has been a grace to you. You know the King and He is so loving and gracious. So, worship Him and deflect all praise to Him, the One who is worthy.