Attitude Behind the Testimony

I was listening to a sermon by Joyce Meyer on the internet last night. Just want to share something that have caught my attention.

(Joyce Meyer's slot was right before Ps. Prince's slot which is at midnight, so sometimes if I was early I will listen to her message also, which I thought was very good and relevant and interesting)

She shared about this incident where she was having some problems (with her pantyhose that keep tearing up!). While she was in the toilet with a Christian friend, it happened again, for the fourth time that week. Out of frustration she just gave a sigh. Her friend said, "You know, I have prayed over my pantyhose and it didn't tear up, I've been using it for the past 6 months".

She felt discouraged after hearing that, it didn't occur to her that she needs to pray over her pantyhose. But the interesting thing is that sometime later this friend shared with her that almost immediately after she gave this "testimony", her pantyhose tore up! She decided to ask God why do these things happen so often... there are many times where we are experiencing victories in a certain area, but the moment we share it out, that victory stopped.

I thought that was interesting too... come to think of it, this "phenomenon" has also occured to me many times, just that i thought it was purely a coincidence and brushed it aside. Was it because God has decided to stop that blessing for a certain reason? What was the reason?

Wait a minute... aren't we suppose to share our testimonies to encourage and edify the church? Aren't the enemy defeated by the blood of Christ and the words of our testimony? So, why do sometimes when we hear other's testimony we feel discouraged and small instead of being encouraged and edified?

This was the answer given to Joyce Meyer:

The reason is because sometimes the motive behind the testimony is not to encourage others. Our motive is sometimes to show that we are slightly better than them.

Wow! I have learnt something important today. We should share out our testimonies to give God the glory, but the attitude behind the testimony is all so important because if we were not careful, we might end up getting the glory for ourselves... "God blessed me because I'm a good Christian, I did this and that...."

So, before we share out our testimonies, don't just blurt it out... apply some wisdom. Do some quick check:

1. What is our motive? Is it to give glory to God and to encourage our listeners? Does our testimony point to Jesus, or to ourselves?
2. Is this the right time to share it? We must also be sensitive to the situation of our hearers. An advice by Joyce Meyer: If someone is going through a tough time struggling in this area, don't share it at that moment... be sensitive!

Haha! I know it is quite a challenge... most of the time when we had a victory we are too excited to share it out, we will be too excited to think through what's the motive behind, whether it is the right time, etc... but growing in wisdom is also part of growing in our spiritual lives. Like the book of Proverbs say:

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." (Proverbs 25:11)

A testimony aptly given can really encourage and edify your listener. He will say, "Ahh... God is REAL! I want that victory in my life!"