The Power of Praise – Sunday, September 06, 1981
There is a hunger in each of us. It is a hunger of the heart, but it is no less real and compelling than hunger of the stomach. It is the need for appreciation and praise. William James said, “…we have an innate propensity to get ourselves noticed, and noticed favorably, by our kind.”1
Mark Twain said simply, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.”2
No one can say how early this hunger shows itself. It may even be that the first cry of a newborn baby is his attempt to call for recognition and attention. And the waves and shouts that every parent is well acquainted with, the calls of—”Hey Mom watch me, “…”Dad look at this”—these are as important to the proper growth of a child as the food and shelter his parents provide.
We never outgrow this need, though as adults it may manifest itself in different forms
from the healthy accomplishments of high achievers to the sick needs of vandals and psychopaths crying out in their twisted way to be recognized.
“Praise makes good men better and bad men worse,”3 Dr. Thomas Fuller observed more than two and a half centuries ago.
Most of us seem to be born with an ability to enjoy receiving praise but giving praise may not come quite so naturally. There are a number of good reasons why we may want to develop this trait, however.
First, and perhaps foremost, praising others takes our minds off ourselves. It has been said that a man wrapped up in himself makes a pretty small package. Being aware of others snaps the strings of that small package and allows us to begin to grow.
The second benefit we will reap is a healthy habit of looking for the good in others. It is so easy in this often-critical world to focus on the negative, and there is always grist for this malicious mill if we care to gather it, but there is also an abundance of good waiting to be gleaned.
The third gift waiting for the praise giver is an opportunity to participate in the finest creations the world has ever produced, because the highest manifestations of man’s genius have been done in praise of the Lord and appreciation for our fellow men. Those whose hearts are tuned to praise find a kindred spirit in these works and a deep “amen” welling up within their souls.
For these and other reasons then, let us go forth proclaiming the praises of others and in the process bring peace and satisfaction to ourselves as well.
1 William James, “Psychology X”, quoted in Great Treasury of Western Thought, Mortimer J Adler and Charles Van Doren, eds, RR Bowker Co New York, 1977, p 78
2 Instant Quotation Dictionary, Donald O Bolander, Comp Career Institute, Little Falls New Jersey, 1969, p 206
3 Gnomologia, Thomas Fuller, B Barber, London, 1732
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September 06, 1981
Broadcast Number 2,716