God’s Word for Today

18 Jul, 2025

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

and a man is tested by his praise.

-Prov 27:21 ESV

A MAN IS TESTED BY HIS PRAISE

The quality of gold and silver is known through melting them by intense heat. Refiners melt these metals to reveal impurities that are to be removed. Solomon applies this idea of testing to praise, using it to measure a man. Scholars and commentators take this in one of two ways.

The first thought is that subjecting a man to praise is like placing precious metals in a crucible. How that person reacts reveals their purity and true nature. The one who responds to compliments with arrogance or egotism reveals his character flaws. On the other hand, the person who accepts praise with humility shows he has no such weakness. The example is the apostle Paul. He demonstrated this when he and Barnabas healed a man at Lystra. The crowds suggested they were gods. Paul and Barnabas rejected that claim. They were simply men with good news. Paul followed the rejection of inappropriate praise with a clear message about God and His goodness (see Acts 14:8–17). Paul quotes Jeremiah 9:24 in 1 Corinthians 1:31 : "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." In Galatians 6:14 he writes, "But far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

The second interpretation is that man can be judged by what he praises. That is, the character of a person is revealed by what he applauds or enjoys (see Isa 5:20 ; Rom 1:32 ; 14:22 ). As silver and gold reveal their hidden flaws when placed in a furnace, so too a man uncovers his tastes and priorities by the things he compliments. Most likely, this is what he values in his heart.

Lastly, praise is an acid test for a person more than trials and difficulties. As somebody says, “For a hundred to pass the test of adversity, only one will pass the test of prosperity or praise.”

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