Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Flattery Diminishes Discernment

Proverbs 26:24-28 "Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin."

When we focus on the "feelings" we have because someone praised us or elevates us, it disarms our senses to be unable to see things objectively.

We have a tendency to see only the good about someone who uses flattery to control us. The favored person in a relationship will not be able to see the plight of others who are demeaning and mocking others, because he is so full of the praise that was served him, he refuses to see how the manipulator is treating others.

The praised one will interpret anything he sees the manipulator doing as justification in some way for their contemptuous responses. He/she will believe that the unkind act of the narcissist must have somehow been misunderstood or provoked by the targeted scapegoat.

We need to look at everything in truth, ignoring our feelings, good or bad to be able to think clearly, objectively and concisely.

We must never allow ourselves to be the "golden" favored one or we should never allow ourselves to be the disfavored scapegoat. Either condition is a mess waiting to happen in our relationships.

Prosperity preachers and motivational speakers have the ability to manipulate very effectively, crowds that love to "feel good", can be made to do almost anything the speaker wants. They know that almost anyone can be manipulated into almost anything when they have been disarmed by flattery or positive stimuli.

Animals are like this too! Even though we are suppose to be above animals, often we can be induced to do what others want because they give us something we like, that is praise, adulation and encouragement to do what will make us wealthy, healthy or special in some way.

All we have to do to train an animal is praise them constantly and give them the treat they like. All it takes is consistent praise and reward for the animal to love to follow our commands.

God tells us to "think with the mind of Christ", when we allow others to manipulate our minds, we are no longer thinking with His mind, in fact we are not even thinking with our own minds, but rather we are being controlled by the minds of others. These "other minds" have ulterior motives, that is to gain something from us. They can get us to give more money to their organization or give them the worship they desire.

Beware of those who flatter and beware of those who manipulate to make us feel "less than." Both conditions will ruin our walk with Christ while empowering those who control through manipulation.

When we are secure in Christ, we can make our choices based on good information form seasoned believers, the Bible and the promptings of the Holy Spirit.


Hallelujah we are free as born again believers, free from all those who do not have our best interest in their hearts.

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