

It is the perfect companion to thanksgiving because we rejoice in who God is as well as what he has done for us.

While celebrating achievement through thanksgiving and praise is appropriate, We rightly give thanks to God, but don’t show our appreciation, respect, or offer thanks to the person who has achieved that great thing.there are ways for celebration to go in the wrong direction. The most obvious problem is giving thanks and praise to the wrong person. If someone has achieved something great, we should celebrate it, and give God the glory. Again, he has given the gift, the opportunity, and the outcome. It is always a perverse redirection to claim glory for people rather than acknowledge the Creator and Sustainer of all life, the Giver of all gifts, and the rightful recipient of our thanks and praise.īut a second problem is the opposite of this. Due to a fear of the first problem, sometimes our celebrations completely ignore the human element. We rightly give thanks to God, but don’t show our appreciation, respect, or offer thanks to the person who has achieved that great thing.
#IOBSERVE CELEBRATING SUCCESS FULL#
Perhaps we don’t want them to become full of pride, or we don’t want to commit idolatry by worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. But surely it is not right to pretend the person had nothing to do with it.
#IOBSERVE CELEBRATING SUCCESS HOW TO#
How to celebrateīut wait, if we are trying to avoid the second problem, won’t we just fall into the first problem? If we thank and praise the person, won’t we be robbing God? Possibly. But not if we’re thinking rightly about achievement.

If we’re thinking rightly, we will recognize that every great achiever is God’s creation, and every good achievement is powered by him. But we will also see that the achiever has worked hard in God’s strength, has taken care, and has persevered in faithful dependence on God. It is right to give thanks for such a person and to give thanks to such a person. We ought to honor God and we ought to honor his servant (1 Tim 5:17). Of course the order is important: God’s praise comes first, then praise to his servant. Thanks to God first, then thanks to his servant.
