The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise. (Prov 27:21)
A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Silver can be purified by being melted down in a crucible. Furnaces that facilitate exceedingly high temperatures can be employed to purify gold. When we willfully subject our precious metals to such extreme heat, we refer to it as “testing” the metal.
Did you know that God also speaks of “testing” our hearts? In Proverbs 27:21, he parallels the testing of metals with the objects of our praise. Think about that. What you praise matters. Who you praise is significant.
- The status updates you “like” on Facebook
- The pictures you post to Instagram
- The tweets you retweet on Twitter
- The pins you repin to Pinterest
- The videos you share from YouTube
- The jokes you tell
- The songs you stream
- The movies you recommend
Each like and post and tweet and pin and video and joke and song and movie recommendation gives people a quick glance into what is stirring in the melting pot of your heart. To take the principle of Matthew 12:34 a step farther, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouse is clicked.”
What you praise matters. Who you praise is significant.
What sort of glimpses will people get of your heart today?