#2 - Promotion!

So, here I sit... enjoying my second cup of coffee, so kindly provided from my servant husband! :) He's sweet!! I like it when he gets me coffee. That is definitely his way of serving... and I believe he enjoys it! A quick incite into "us".... if you have ever read "The Five Love Languages" (really great read by the way!)... well, Tyler's love language from me is "acts of service". He really feels loved when I serve him in the sense of making him food, pulling up the sheets & tucking him in to bed, getting him some something to drink or getting him a "snack" while he's working.... those sorts of things. Me on the otherhand... I LOVE gifts! :) And, I also really appreciate "words of affirmation". I am typically not an "acts of service" sort of girl....like Tyler mowing the lawn or washing the vehicle doesn't really do much for me. It's nice, but he could bring me home a Butterfinger candy bar and you would've thought he hung the moon! 


Anyways... have had an interesting time in the Word this morning. Again, God is NEW! We serve a NEW God! A God who continually will reveal NEW things to us if we seek him out and give him a chance. Well, He did not disappoint this morning. He is good! And... conveniently, the boy is still sleeping, so it is giving me a little bit of time to write. 


So, this morning one of the big topics in my study has been "Promotion". I know Tyler has been studying the life of Joseph a lot lately, and "Promotion" has been a big theme there.... but we are going to talk about promotion from a bit different of an angle. So, let's jump into it and see where Proverbs 25 & Proverbs 31 cross paths. 

Proverbs 25:6-7 (amp) - Be not forward (self-assertive and boastfully ambitious) in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men; For better it is that it should be said to you, Come up here, than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whose eyes have seen you. 

Or we can look at text from The Message, provides a bit different of a view:

Don't work yourself into the spotlight; don't push your way into the place of prominence. It's better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted.

And let's take a look into Proverbs 31:23:

(Amp) - Her husband is known in the [city's] gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. 

(The Message) - Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers.

So... as I began to think about the Proverbs 31 woman's husband, I really began to realize they are quite the dynamic duo! Not only does she rock it with all her qualities, but her husband is quite the leader in the community. 


And let's just think about it... he sits among the elders, the leaders of the land, do you think that the LEADERS of the land just allow ANYONE to sit with them? Do you think that if "Joe" off the street came up while they were having a meeting they would just let him take a seat, join in, add his 2 cents? Probably not. This Proverbs 31 husband has EARNED his spot among the elders. He has EARNED the respect to sit with them, to talk with them, to speak and be heard. 


It reminds me of my grandpa. Every morning he goes to coffee at like 5:30 or 6:00 am. The same group of retired men, meet at the same gas station every morning, get their same 60 cent cup of coffee, and take their same old seats. Every morning. For how long? For years and years and years! If the sun sets, those men will be getting coffee the next morning. When my grandpa walks in, he takes HIS seat and begins to shoot the breeze with his friends. Well, just like my grandpa has earned his seat & his friendship with these men over years, this Proverbs 31 husband has also paid his dues. 


Promotion. "Be not forward (self-assertive and boastfully ambitious) in the presence of the king..." 


One Sunday afternoon, Tyler & I were invited to attend a special, "by invitation only" birthday party for our Pastor. Our Pastor is a man of God in our lives who we respect, we honor, we value his words into our lives, and we were honored to be invited to attend this special event. I remember walking in to the clubhouse & there being maybe three tables, then scattered about a lot of extra chairs, but definitely not enough seats for everyone to sit. Tyler & I stood off along the wall with some other people chatting, we did not have a seat and were not about to take a seat at the table positioned by our Pastor. I remember feeling so honored when the Pastor kind of arranged the seating at this table. He told Tyler & I, "Come on over here. I want you to sit right here."  He had two seats for us at the table. What an honor. 


Promotion. It was much nicer to be invited to sit there, than have been asked to move. 


So... do you crave promotion? Attention? Praise? Honor? Do you want to receive it but you don't want to just pipe up and say, "Hey, did you see how good I did at this? I am so awesome. Look how good I am." 


Well, from a person whose love language is "words of affirmation", I can definitely tell you I have spent my fair share of time desiring "praise" or "promotion". I'm sure I have also spent my fair share of times bragging about this or that... being the "Me Monster"... "look at me! ME! ME! ME!" 


If you want Promotion... if you want Praise. Give it. If your peer at work has done something good, brag on them in front of others. If your spouse has built a deck on to the back of your house and is really proud of it, brag on it in front of his friends or parents and tell them how good he did. If your spouse, friend, boss, co-worker, pastor has done something good worth recognizing, recognize them! Privately just to them, or publically in front of others, praise them! What do we know about sowing? If you sow corn, you'll get corn. If you sow beans, you'll get beans. If you sow praise, you'll get what? You will get Praised also! Give it time to grow. But, sow!


I think I heard the boy talking. I guess I'll go check on him.