(by Chris Musgrove of Future Now)

I remember a minister who once said, “Be on the lookout for people that always tell you how great you are. He said people like that are preacher killers.”

They kill preachers because the Bible says in Proverbs 18:12: “Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.”

Proverbs 27:21: As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so is a man tried by praise.

The Amplified Bible says, The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold [to separate the impurities of the metal], And each is tested by the praise given to him [and his response to it, whether humble or proud].

Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 29:23 says, “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

Proverbs 28:23 says, “He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.”

Several years ago, I was at the funeral of a friend. I first met this man after hearing him teach an adult Sunday School Class at my church. I told my wife that I wanted to get to know him because he was an incredibly anointed teacher. We became friends and he was someone who spoke into my life many times. But at his funeral I learned that he had spoken things into many other people’s lives. Some said that things he shared actually bothered them because they were things they didn't want to hear. But later on, they realized he was right and that he really was their friend and was trying to help them.

As I was thinking about my friend, Proverbs 27:6 came to mind:

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.”

Be a true friend and always speak the truth in love.