Conditional Praise

By Cal Cook

Words of encouragement or words of Abaddon (destruction) seem to be based on the condition of our current situation. If we’re doing all right then words of encouragement and even praise come pretty easily. But when we’re down, when we’re discouraged ourselves, somehow encouragement for others and praise for God seems to be in short supply. It’s as if our hope is dependant of our current situation…yet conditional hope is no hope at all!

The Word of God does not teach conditional hope, just as it does not teach conditional love.

Isaiah 54:8b But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.

Time and time again the Bible is filled with the Created turning away, yet the Creator time and time again draws them back to Him. He gives us words of hope, words of encouragement…through His Prophet Isaiah He speaks:

Isaiah 50:4a The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary.

His words of wisdom are the words Peter spoke with when he declared that Jesus is the Christ. The parallel passage from our reading in Mark 8 says:

Matthew 16:17

Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.

Peter speaks words of praise, declaring that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One to come, yet as soon as things start to turn from what he thinks is right, as soon as the one he just praised turns from his understanding…those words change:

Mark 8:31-32 He (Jesus) then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

We all know the words that are spoken next: “Get behind me, Satan!” Words of praise and words of destruction spoken within minutes of one another, words spoken from the same lips, words spoken it would seem from the same heart! Is this what James is warning us about?

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

James is speaking about praising God and then cursing our brothers and sisters, yet I believe the same dynamic is going on. 1Cor 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

So when we praise Jesus as God we are speaking by the Spirit just as Peter, yet when we curse our brother we are speaking in the flesh…jealousy, anger, bitterness, words of abaddon words of destruction spoken from the same lips. Selfish desires from the heart come past our lips as we proclaim what we desire, what we believe to be right, what we would do if we were God.