“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory;    
because of your love and because of your faithfulness.” (Psalm 115:1)

My mother would be ashamed of my bad manners. 

A few weeks ago, I celebrated a baptism in church for the daughter of a man whom I had baptized and whose father was an old friend from my first church.  Most of the people attending the baptism were unknown to me and unfamiliar with the church.

While I was standing with a fixed, camera-ready smile on my face, the woman who had been arranged next to me for the photograph said, “This is really a beautiful church!” to which I said, “Yes, it really is lovely, isn’t it?  And they have kept it like new.”

My mother taught me that when someone pays you a complement you say, “Thank you.”  I think the woman who made the complement about our building was also expecting either a “thank you” or at least an “aw shucks.” 

But, without a thought, I simply agreed.  It was a compliment, but not to me.  Accepting her complement would feel like taking credit for someone else’s work.  (Think about it Mom, would you take a compliment for a cake you didn’t bake?)

God created humanity and pronounced it “very good.”  God looks at us and says: “very good.”  Maybe, we should forget our manners and just agree with God: “Yes, I am; I had a great creator.”

Prayer: Give me grace to see myself through your eyes, to admire what you’ve made (even though I haven’t kept the place up).  Amen.