Sam Crabtree - Practicing Affirmation (Foreword by John Piper): God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God

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Practicing
Affirmation

God-Centered Praise
of Those Who Are Not God

SAM CRABTREE

Foreword by John Piper

Practicing Affirmation: God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God

Copyright 2011 by Sam Crabtree

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Interior design and typesetting: Lakeside Design Plus

Cover design: Dual Identity Inc.

First printing 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from TheNew American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added.

Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-2243-7

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-2244-4

Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-2245-1

ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2246-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Crabtree, Sam, 1950

Practicing affirmation : God-centered praise of those who are not God / Sam Crabtree.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.

ISBN 978-1-4335-2243-7 (tp)

1. PraiseReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. Interpersonal relationsReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BV4597.53.P73C73 2011

248.4dc22

2010044483

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

VP 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11

14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

With thanks to God for those who affirm so well.

The point of being created in the image of God is that human beings are destined to display God. Thats what images do. And the point of being redeemed by Jesus, and renewed after the image of our Creator, is to recover this destiny.

But why? Surely not so that Gods handiwork in his people would go unnoticed or unpraised. If God is sovereign, and every good gift is from above, then not praising the good in others is a kind of sacrilege and soul-sickness.

When our mouths are empty of praise for others, it is probably because our hearts are full of love for self. This is what I mean by soul-sickness. C. S. Lewis was surely right when he wrote,

The world rings with praiselovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite gamepraise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious

Sams book is a healing balm for cranks, misfits, and malcontents who are so full of self they scarcely see, let alone celebrate, the simple beauties of imperfect virtue in others. Or to say it differently: I need this book.

The absence of affirmation for Gods handiwork in his people is also a kind of sacrilegefor at least three reasons.

First, it is disobedience to Gods command: A woman who fears the LORD is to be praised (Prov. 31:30). And I cant think of any reason why this does not apply in principle to God-fearing men.

Second, it demeans Jesus as though he were stooping to do something unworthy when he says, Well done, good and faithful servant (Matt. 25:21, 23). If he says it, should we consider it beneath us to say it?

Third, all the works of God are worthy of praise. And there is no good in anyone but by the work of God (1 Cor. 4:7; 15:10).

It gets deeper. Sam says, The best affirmation is rooted not only in the character of God, but in the gospel. Which means that every glimmer of good in the life of Gods children is blood-bought. Jesus died to make it possible. What does it say about us if he died to bring it about, and we dont consider it worth praising? That is, to say it again, I need this book.

Of course there are pitfalls and problems. Whats the difference between good praise and bad flattery? What about the fact that in the Bible Gods people never say Thank you to each other, but only to God for each other? What about the danger of encouraging someones craving for human praise, which Jesus so clearly condemns? Is it okay to want to be on the receiving end of good affirmation? What about unbelievers who are not being renewed after the image of their Creator? When should we praise them? Or should we not? Sam tackles every one of these issues head on. It is not a superficial book.

But it is practical. Incredibly practicalwith dozens of illustrations and applications to the workplace and marriage and parenting and friendships and ministry. And, of course, thats what I would expect from Sam Crabtree. He lives this book. I have worked at Sams side on the staff of our church since 1997. Which means I have been on the receiving end of unremitting God-focused affirmation. Not without correction. And so, yes, there is a section in the book on that too.

I thank God for you, Sam. I pray that we can finish well together. You have taught me more than you know. You have written a one-of-a-kind book. I have no doubt that in the last day this book will be one of the many reasons the Lord Jesus will say to you, Well done.

John Piper

Pastor for Preaching and Vision

Bethlehem Baptist Church

Twin Cities, Minnesota

Affirmation is the purpose of the universespecifically, affirmation of God.

Commending the praise of men could meet with justifiable criticism. Landmines are everywhere. Take, for instance, this warning: The love of our own glory is the greatest competitor with God in our hearts. And sometimes we can cloak this idol in a pious disguise. If this is true, and I think it is, then how can I possibly advocate the praise of people? Am I not fueling idolatrous pride?

The Bible Commends God and People

Even with the Bibles emphasis on humble self-denial and its warnings against pride, the Bible praises peopleto the glory of God, ultimately. The chief end of God is not to glorify man, as humanistic thought would have it; the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. Meanwhile, the praising of people does not necessarily preclude the praising of God, if the people are commended ultimately for his glory. God is glorified in us when we affirm the work he has done and is doing in others.