Personally, I don't think "God wrote it" is humility, or anything like it; I think in most cases it's raw, poisonous spiritual pride. (I also think that in most cases, if God actually did write something directly, it would be a long sight better.)

Now this takes talent - a post that I'm nodding and going "Oh yeah - that is SO annoying" and getting conviction at the same time.

I have such a hard time with compliments on my performances. I was the narrator for our Good Friday cantata, and I am really good at that sort of thing. But I know I only did well because a)God gave me the talent, b)He saved me, c) He allowed me to be healthy enough to perform and d) He boosted the impact of my performance.

Besides, the power of the narration was in the Scripture it was using.

All of this to say that - when people stopped me and told me how much they liked what I did- I generally just said Thanks. Cause saying Praise God instead of thanks feels ... I dunno - fake to me.

Most people seemed fine. But the pastor- after telling me my narration was "Perfect!" seemed annoyed at me for just saying Thanks, shot me a look, and then said "Well Praise God."

If a compliment is really a test of how not spiritual I am, please don't give it to me!

(keep in mind, I'm very paranoid so he may not have really meant anything by it)

But either way, you're right, I'm still too self-focused or I wouldn't be worrying over how to take the compliment or how the person takes how I take it, or.... ;-p

I asked one of our pastors years back how they handled compliments such as these and he said that the best thing to do was to say something like, "I appreciate those kind words. Thank You," or just a simple, "Thank you." This pretty much goes along with what's been commented.

I think it might be different if you were speaking to someone who you knew was not a Christian and you wanted to mention the power of Christ in your thanks, but for someone who is a fellow believer, shouldn't it be assumed that without God we are nothing? Isn't that a basic truth that we all should have as a part of the lens through which we view the world?

Sure - things are different during a time of worship or in a more formal setting. We all know God deserves glory (and will receive praise regardless), yet we still glorify him. But in a very casual, lighthearted moment, I don't know that God's involvement in salvation needs to be discussed at any length.

AM - "Personally, I don't think "God wrote it" is humility, or anything like it; I think in most cases it's raw, poisonous spiritual pride." - Well said!


Blest - But the pastor- after telling me my narration was "Perfect!" seemed annoyed at me for just saying Thanks, shot me a look, and then said "Well Praise God."

I hope he didn't mean what it sounds like he meant. It's the "wait, I just said spiritual cliche A, you were supposed to respond with spiritual cliche B, but you didn't" problem.

I hate being in those situations. Once I was asked why we got involved teaching the singles group at church (by a pastor, in public - he kind of put me on the spot :-) - I responded with something like this: "Well, we really felt we needed to get involved in a teaching ministry somewhere, and the need was there, so we got involved". He responded with sort of a look that said "Yes . . . and?", then he answered the question for me: "I would also hope you would say God called you to do it".

Yeah, it was kind of embarrassing. Bam! I'm not spiritual!

But the fact is, yeah, I felt/feel God has called me to teach or disciple or equip (have felt this my whole Christian life and have always found myself in that role). I was just done with a long stint as a student worker And the Singles needed a teacher and Jill and I had told God we'd teach wherever we were needed. But God never came to me at night and said "teach the singles".

Anyway. Long story. But I know the feeling (I don't have any beef with the pastor, though - I know where he was going with that :-)

I've been on both sides, and I'm terrible at taking compliments. But, even when I was writing song lyrics, I made it a point to never--ever--say that God wrote one of my songs. I felt that that would be an attempt to elevate my writing to the level of Scripture, and I knew better than that.

I also noted that the people who did say "God wrote this song," were generally ascribing divine authorship to some pretty lame writing. I always figured God, if He'd really written a song, could have done better than that.

The popular notion of "calling" is overrated. I think it happens but I also think its a dishonest way to spiritualize something we don't need to apologize for anyway -- ministering to people who need ministering to.

First, love and obey God. Then, do what you want.

That's what I think. :-)

Good post, Bill.

Amen to that.

I'm another one for whom learning just to say "Thanks" to a compliment has been a difficult discipline. (There are still times when someone compliments me on a sermon and all I can say is, "God is good," because I know I wasn't, particularly.)

That kind of false modesty usually masks a real spiritual pride. Sometimes it's pride and self-absorption masking itself as a deep insecurity, but it's still pride and self-absorption. As C.S. Lewis put it:

I would prefer to combat the "I'm special" feeling not by the thought "I'm no more special than anyone else," but by the feeling "everyone is as special as me."

The most enlightening moment I've ever had on this subject came from a conversation I had with my wife when I became the pastor of this church.

Someone complimented me on my sermon after church. I turned to my wife and said,
Me: I never know what to say when people say, "you did a great job." God deserves the credit. Why don't they say, "I'm praising God for how he used you to make a difference in my life today."?
Her: That's what they mean. They just don't always know how to say that, or they don't have the right words.

So now, when someone compliments me, I assume that they are spiritually aware, and are trying to encourage me, AND let me know that God used me as God used a donkey to communicate to Balaam.

And when I say, "Thank you", I just assume they know I know, that God gets the credit.

Though on occasion I might say, "God gets the credit on that one" I only say that when I know I did a lousy job, and when I know I'm not being falsely spiritual. And when I'm sure that I'm not being condescending and Uber-spiritual to the person who thanked me.

Yes. And I've heard God get blamed for some pretty terrible songs, too.

And some pretty terrible novels, as well.

The late Larry Norman, father of Christian rock, said it best: "Sometimes when people say, 'God gave me this song,' I can see why He didn't want it anymore."

You know, sometimes, people just get nervous and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Maybe they just said "God wrote the song" because it was what popped in to their mind and they were nervous. I know this for a fact because I was standing next to someone that said that once and then he turned to me and said "God wrote that? Where did I get that from?" I know him as someone that gets nervous when talking to new people. I also knew that he doesn't really believe that - he just panicked.

Instead of jumping to conclusions and accusing people of being spiritual proud or venomous or whatever - why don't we try to realize that people like this are HUMAN like the rest of us, and just maybe they made a mistake, or said the wrong thing, or maybe just hadn't been taught better on how to respond. Maybe they were taught that this is how modest people respond, so they are trying to be modest. Why are we so quick to throw around condemnation?

You know, my response to any praise I have ever gotten for a sermon or a painting was just "thanks." I never thought about how there could actually be a wrong response to a compliment... until now.

Crossbow, it is uncharitable of you to assume Bill's words do not allow for such a thing. He is discussing a subject, not you.

Were you being falsely humble? If not, relax and move on.

This is not the first time you've gotten upset about criticism, and I'd only ask you to reflect for a moment if your reflex to object might fall under the criticism you're offering as well.

"Condemnation"? Please.

Crossbow,

I'm as guilty as anyone. For example, a few years ago I played bass in a Christmas concert at church, and some of the parts were difficult. I guess I played pretty well, but I spent the first night arguing with everyone who complimented me about how I didn't play well, made a thousand mistakes, etc.

And I was totally convicted of my pride when I got home. They were just being nice. I was being a prideful jerk, in the guise of humility (that wasn't humility). The next two nights I just said "thanks" when complimented :-)

All that being said, if I conveyed that I think it's a huge sin to say "Don't praise me, praise the Lord" when someone compliments you, it wasn't what I intended. I don't think it's a good practice (because it makes the complimenter feel like an unspiritual loser), and, while I wouldn't call my post a condemnation, I do think that it is, generally, an inappropriate way to respond to a compliment. But, of course, there are times when out of a truly humble heart such a thing might be said.

That being said, if, as the blogger I quoted reports, the dude who wrote the song gave him a disdainful look. said "No, God did", and walked away, he was flat wrong to do that.

What's more, Crossbow, no one's accusing anyone, because no specific people have been named or labeled; as Jared said, the discussion is in regard to the subject, to one particular behavior pattern, not to particular individuals who manifest this pattern.

Crossbow, I agree that in any specific instance such a reaction might be that of someone just groping for something to say. Even if not, the observation that those words can reflect pride or self-absorbed false humility doesn't mean that the person is a terrible person. They may never have thought through the implications of what they're saying.

I'm also guilty of having a hard time taking a compliment. Some years ago I realized this (and realized how stupid or frustrated it made me feel when I tried to compliment someone and they wouldn't accept it), and have since tried to make a point of responding with a simple "thanks" or "hey thanks, that really means a lot to me that you would say that."

But the phenomenon is so widespread, especially in Christian circles, that I think there's something going on there generally speaking, that goes beyond just one person's discomfort and awkward grabbing of the first response that comes to mind. WHY is that the first response that comes to mind, for so many?