The Beatitudes: Part 12 – Woe To Those Who Are Praised

Jesus says, “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” We crave the praises and the glory that humans give. It’s a sign of the sin that resides in every human. Since the fall of humanity, we have wanted to be like God. In fact that was the very temptation: “You shall be like God.” The follower of Jesus Christ understands that it is God’s praise and recognition and pleasure that we must seek. The praises of humans will always lead us away from God and the Truth, because, as Paul says, humans were born enemies of God. For this reason, Solomon says that the fear of humans, or the concern for what humans think, is a deadly trap. Paul tells the Galatians, “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” The ways of Christ are not the ways of this world. For this reason, things like social media and Youtube and all forms of media that Christians are engaged in, are very dangerous. Afterall, who wants to be hated publicly? Yet Jesus said we would be hated if we were His disciples. This is why Jesus says, “What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.”