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Accepting praise

TzegemariamTzegemariam
edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
Greetings in the name of Our Lord
Happy Hosanna/Palm Sunday!!!

I had a question regarding the acceptance of praise...

If you do something good for God and someone praises and awards you for it, what do you do???

Someone told me that it is good to receive/accept the praise given for allowing good to come out of there mouth...

Should we be happy and accept it or deny it? Please help me everyone

I remember reading something about a younger monk going to a older monk to learn
and the older monk told him to praise the dead and curse them and they didn't say anything and thats how we should be.

May God bless you on this day of His triumphal entrance to Jerusalem and help you to answer this questions. Amen

Comments

  • ZoxsasiZoxsasi
    In my opinion, you should accept both praise and criticism. I think that's healthy. Complements shouldnt go to your head and make you big headed, and criticism shouldn't make you go off and kill the person who has critiqued you.

    But when you offer anything, especially for God, you shouldn't be looking for praise.
  • gregorytheSinnergregorytheSinner
    St. Macarius the Great once said that a monk shouldn't be moved by either or...
    granted he was specifically referring to monks, but still i see it smart to be somewhat withdrawn from praise/criticism [WITHIN LIMITS of course.] 

    personally speaking, praise usually gets to my head [even if i was originally doing ti for God] and well in general, i dont take criticisim well, but its what i learn from.
  • grace08
    As long as you don't become proud and think that you are better than others it's ok to accept praise/compliments. It's a form of encouragement and support for what you are doing. It motivates you to continue doing what you are doing.
  • ZoxsasiZoxsasi
    actually, now I remember a story from the Bostan il Rohban book.

    There was a monk that was receiving a lot of praise for something he had done. All the monks were praising him, and I guess he felt like a champ.

    Anyway, this other monk comes up to him and insults him - for no reason.

    The monk started to cry and he was so upset.

    Then the monk that had insulted him said "You are truly a weak monk because you accepted the complement well, but not the criticism".

    If that happened to me, I'd have broken the nose of that monk and told him not play mind games with me, and get lost. Some stories in that book really disturb me, and I'm not sure if these are good examples for children. What a way to teach someone a lesson!

    I remember once, I had a hard time going to Church.. things weren't going well, and it was at a very low period in my life. I went to attend Holy Mass in the morning, and I really enjoyed. At the end of the mass, the priest came up to me and with this smirk on his face said "I don't like your face".

    I thought to myself, this priest has been reading too many monk-stories and wants to try that stuff out on me... so I just said "Im sorry. Its what God has given me" , and I walked off.

  • MozesMozes
    The older monk was St Macarios telling they young monk not to bother about things people say.It may be easier for monks and church clergy to deal with that than it is for lay people.Praises make us happy.We feel great about it.We like to advertise it.Slowly, it leads us to arrogance and pride without us being aware of it. I guess,the best thing is just to take it easy,feel good for the moment and then not dwell on it.Ok, easily said than done,but worth trying.There will always be occasions where people will praise us for one thing or other.It would be great to be indifferent to all types praise and disapproval.
  • ZoxsasiZoxsasi
    [quote author=Mozes link=topic=9026.msg112506#msg112506 date=1269822395]
    The older monk was St Macarios telling they young monk not to bother about things people say.It may be easier for monks and church clergy to deal with that than it is for lay people.Praises make us happy.We feel great about it.We like to advertise it.Slowly, it leads us to arrogance and pride without us being aware of it. I guess,the best thing is just to take it easy,feel good for the moment and then not dwell on it.Ok, easily said than done,but worth trying.There will always be occasions where people will praise us for one thing or other.It would be great to be indifferent to all types praise and disapproval.


    That sounds like more of a reasonable and moderate approach. But it seems a bit estranged to the story I read.
  • kokiiekokiie
    You willingly accept it, but you act as a mirror! Let me explain..

    Any praise that people give you is really not for you, it's for God. God is the one that created good in you and given you the will and strength to do good! Therefore when people praise you, reflect the praise up to God, and remind yourself of who you are without His grace.

    + God Bless.
  • deaconmark123deaconmark123
    Personal: i dont like to accept praise because i feel it gives me a sense of pride, and feeling that im better than other people, and that it is possible to get to the top of the list. When in truth im at the bottom. So when people praise me i just tell them thank you and try to block out the words they told me. For example: If some one tells me "ohhh good job im so proud of you" i will say "thank you" and pretty much just ignore the words in my head so i dont feel proud.

    OR

    If its someone that doesnt get offended very easy or takes things to the extreme of all extremes. I will just say the same thing to them like they said to me. For Example: if some one tells me "im so proud of you" i will just say "thank you im proud of you too" it might seem like its useless but i guess thats how i cope with this stuff. if im wrong someone please correct me  ;D
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