Self-Commendation

I've often heard non-church goers say something like, "I'm just as good as anyone down at the church."  My first mental reaction to a statement like that usually is, "Maybe so, but that's not good enough."  The church is filled with sinners, so how does being as good as they are much of a commendation?

My second mental reaction tends to be, "How do you know you are as good as they are?"  As there is only one Judge, what makes anyone so certain of their assessment of another's character?  The Bible clearly speaks of righteous and unrighteous, good and evil, workers an lazy, etc.  We are not all geared the same way.  We may all have the same value to a loving God, but we are not all bringing the same value into his service.

Setting aside the fact of our personal sin condition and the foolishness of judging others, there is another very good reason not to rely on our own self-commendation: "For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends" (2 Cor 10:18).  Our own approval does not carry any weight.  Again, we are not judge, not even of ourselves.

Paul  highlights this false-thinking very succintly in saying, "When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise" (2 Cor 10:12).  We are not the judge nor are we the measuring stick.  Simply put, self-commendation has no real value.  When I was in the Air Force, I received the Air Force Medal of Commendation.  What do you think that would have been worth to me or anyone if I was the one who bestowed the medal on myself?  Exactly!  Self-commendation is not very commendable.

So, perhaps it would be wise to set aside any effort to commend ourselves and instead, simply do our best to serve God and man, leaving the assessment of our actions to God above, who is Judge.  It hardly matters what I think or you think about my life.  It only matters what God thinks.  As Paul postulates in Romans 14:4, "Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."

Our focus ought to be selfless service rather than self-centered commendation.  Let us serve God and he will commend us.  Moreover, he will cause us to stand firm even when we feel shaky.  We are saved by His grace, not our goodness.