giving kudos

St Augustine talks to us about giving praise to other people, or receiving it, in A Year with the Church Fathers.  His main point is that we should not go seeking after the glory of people, but instead we should seek God's favor. Probably nothing you haven't heard before.

But then he says something interesting. He says that the person GIVING the praise to another person is much better off than the person receiving the praise. And he's right, for many reasons. The reason HE gives is that the person giving the praise is recognizing the goodness that God has created in the other person, while the person who receives the praise is preferring the glory of men to the glory of God. But I've also noticed in life that the people who consistently and, very importantly, SPECIFICALLY praise other people are the ones who are most appreciated. They're the ones who are "the bigger person" in the room. They're the ones who have it together. The ones who constantly seek after the praise of others are the ones who, you might notice, come across as desperate.

In case you wondered, kudos comes from the Greek word kydos, meaning praise.

So let's learn to praise other people. Praising them specifically for things they've done right. And therefore encouraging them to do greater good, for the greater glory of God.

God, thank You for teaching us to praise, and not to seek it.