Proverbs 27:2 - Homiletics

Self-praise

I. SELF - PRAISE IS ILL FOUNDED . It may be true to fact, but we cannot be sure that it is.

1 . Possibly it is insincere . So many motives of vanity and self-interest urge a person to pretend to be better than he is, that a certificate of merit given by himself on behalf of himself cannot be taken at a high value.

2 . Probably it is delusive . Even when it is perfectly sincere it is likely to be perverted by unconscious misconceptions. It is very easy to be honestly mistaken as to one's own worth. We are the worst conceivable judges of our own characters and deserts. Even when we can calmly and fairly estimate our powers we are likely to be very wrong in valuing our use of them.

II. SELF - PRAISE SPRINGS FROM SELFISHNESS .

1 . It reveals a self-regarding habit . If a man is given to expatiate on his own merits, he must be accustomed to turn his thoughts inwards; he must be familiar with the contemplation of himself. Now, this is not wholesome. The less a man thinks about himself the better for his own soul's health.

2 . It implies a desire of self-aggrandizement . There is usually a motive behind the habit of self-praise, and, though this may be nothing worse than childish vanity, it carries with it a desire for exciting the admiration of others; it aims at reaping a harvest of laudation. But possibly the end sought is more far reaching, and the pretentious person indicts his own testimonials with a deliberate intention of securing some tangible advantage thereby. The self-praise is then just an ugly, glaring blossom of selfishness.

III. SELF - PRAISE PROVOKES JEALOUSY . It rarely secures the admiration that it seeks. On the contrary, it is generally received with suspicion; and even when it is honest and true, a large discount is taken off its claims.

1 . Its defective authority is perceived . This is a point to which vanity is singularly blind. Yet all the weakness of the situation is apparent to every beholder; for it is universally recognized that a man is strongly tempted to make out a good case for himself, and that he is likely to be deceived into an inordinate estimate of his own value. Therefore self-praise is usually wasted.

2 . It irritates the vanity of others . The tendency is for the hearer to imagine that the vain speaker desires to exalt himself at the expense of others. A comparison of merit seems to be challenged, and this at once rouses the jealousy of the audience. Thus self-praise does not win friends. What it may perhaps succeed in extracting in the form of admiration is paid for dearly by the dislike that it also creates.

IV. SELF - PRAISE IS CONTRARY TO CHRISTIAN HUMILITY . It represent, a wholly alien spirit. Doubtless it is a common weakness of men who are truly Christian and kind hearted, for no man is perfect; but still it is a weakness, and it is foreign to the genius of the religion under which it finds a shelter. The often repeated rule of Christ is that "Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased;" "The first shall be last." The Due disciple is not to choose the upper seat in the synagogue. Humility, self-forgetfulness, the preference of others, are the Christian graces. Self-praise is useless before God.

V. SELF - PRAISE ONLY AIMS AT WHAT CAN BE BETTER ATTAINED WITHOUT IT . "Let another man praise thee." Self-praise silences the lips of admration from others. The truly humble man will not crave such admiration. But all men of right feeling must desire to stand well with their fellows. It is happy to feel that we have the respect and confidence of those whose opinion we value. Now, these encouragements are better secured by unpretentious merit, and humility in earnest, simple attempts to do right.