"As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold [bring forth all the impurities of the metal], so let a man be in his trial of praise [ridding himself of all that is base or insincere; for a man is judged by what he praises and of what he boasts]." Proverbs 27:21 (Amp)
I was riding in the car with the boss one night. He was taking several of us out to eat. One of the guys made a comment about reality shows on TV and wondered how people could participate in such shameful acts while they are knowingly on national television. The boss came back quickly with the response, "they don't participate in self evaluation".
What does that interchange have to do with the beauty, purity and encouragement in the verse above? The verse, like so many in scripture, is really about self evaluation. We cannot have a productive Christian walk without it. Those of the world only value self-evaluation when it brings them profit, power or social benefit. We are supposed to value it as God's way of moving us toward maturity, which is Christ-likeness.
Of course, the best tool to use in self evaluation is the Bible. We accurately view ourselves in the mirror of God's Word and effectively wash ourselves in the water of God's Word. Shameful acts will then be known and judged before we are tempted to commit them. Looks like we'd better have a daily routine of reading God's Word.
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