Matthew 22:16<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, \u2018Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.\u2019 \u201c<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is in the nature of man to desire positive words spoken about him. It is something intrinsic in man to want to hear good things spoken in his favor. And while there is nothing wrong in receiving positive affirmation from people, we must always guard our hearts from absorbing these words of praise. What flattery does is weaken our sensitivity towards the flatterer. We suddenly lower our guards and become more welcoming and accepting, without knowing if there are other motives behind the flattery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pharisees and Herodians wanted to entangle Jesus and find a legitimate cause against Him, so they started by seeking to weaken His spiritual sensitivity towards them, through flattery. Too many men and women have fallen prey to evil plots because they have allowed the seductive words of people penetrate their hearts. Our protective shields must always be on, and we need to become more vigilant when people start pouring accolades on us. While some people are honest in their words of affirmation, many are not. I have refused to let my heart accept and absorb the praises of men because I know it\u2019s not good for my personal alertness and personal spiritual standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLord Jesus, only Your commendation is acceptable, and it\u2019s only Your commendation that matters to me. Help me seek this only and protect my heart from the sweet words from my fellow men, whether they are well-intentioned or not. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matthew 22:16 \u201cAnd they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, \u2018Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.\u2019 \u201c It is in the nature of man to desire positive words […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-reflections-from-matthew"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t