flattery

Thou Shalt Not Flatter (At Conferences)

Mark Jones
Jun 20, 2023
There are certain acceptable public sins in the Reformed world. In my experience, flattery is the acceptable sin on the popular conference circuit and in social media circles where people are angling for approval from their superiors. If you want to hear a good obituary of a living person, listen...

Communicable Attributes: Wisdom from God

Keith Kauffman
Nov 20, 2020
In a world full of uncertainty and confusion, each of us longs for the ability to navigate our circumstances well, to make a right judgment or take the right action. Sometimes we are presented with a plethora of options and we are left trying to pick the right one. In other instances, perhaps we...

How Shall I Love My Neighbor? By Keeping the Law!

Dan Doriani
Sep 17, 2020
An advice column dedicated to gift-giving in December accidentally explored a very biblical topic – the relationship between love and the law. Question one: What shall I do about a boyfriend who buys expensive but inappropriate gifts? The mind wanders: Did he buy her a chain saw last year? Hang-...

William Williams Pantycelyn – The Sweet Singer of Wales

Simonetta Carr
Jul 14, 2020
William Williams Pantycelyn – The Sweet Singer of Wales In most of the world, William Williams is only known to those who read the names of authors in their hymnbooks. Most people don’t, and go on singing his most famous hymn, “Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah” (also known as “Bread of Heaven”)...

The Friendless Flatterer

Mark Jones
Mar 22, 2016
One of the most publicly and socially acceptable sins is flattery. That's why it is also such a dangerous sin. Consider this Yiddish proverb: "Flattery makes friends and truth makes enemies." But the friends made by flattery are not worth having at all. True friendship comes through hard work, but...