Excerpt from Psalm 95

"Let us come into God's presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to God with songs of praise."

Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson

It's right to praise God and it can be fun too. Even if God doesn't need our praise, we need to praise God, to shout and sing that God is good, no matter what. Praising God puts things in perspective. No matter how bad it may be, God is still God and God is still good.

But, if our colleague at the UCC's Ministry of Parish Life and Leadership, Barbara Blodgett, is right (and I think she is), we human beings don't need praise nearly so much as we need good feedback. Praise, like, "You are the best," or "You're so smart," may feel good for a little while, but thoughtful feedback is far more helpful in the long haul.

What's the difference between praise and feedback? Praise tends to be person-focused — "You are the world's best friend" — while feedback tends to be action-focused. "When you listened to me without interrupting or giving me advice, that was really helpful. That's just what I needed from a friend." Good feedback, says Barbara in her new book, Becoming the Pastor You Hope to Be, does require more work than praise.

Sometimes praise directed at people can be more about the needs of those giving it than the person being praised. We want to express gratitude or love, or sound upbeat and positive. And at times blanket praise can be used to cover things up, even manipulate people. Have you ever noticed how easily effusive, blanket praise flips over into blanket criticism?

Feedback need not be negative, though it can be challenging. It tells us something about how we acted in ways that can help us learn and grow. Tossing out praise may be a short-term feel good. But helpful feedback does more real good.

So here's my suggestion: give praise to God, who can handle it. Give God feedback too, if you need to. God can handle that. But for mortals, go easy on the praise and heavy on the thoughtful, constructive feedback.

Prayer

Praise be to you, O God. You are great and greatly to be praised. And one of the things I praise you for is giving me friends who give me loving and honest feedback so that I keep on learning and growing. Amen.

About the Author Anthony B. Robinson, a United Church of Christ minister, is a speaker, teacher and writer. His newest book is Stewardship for Vital Congregations, published by The Pilgrim Press. Read his weekly reflections on the current lectionary texts at www.anthonybrobinson.com/ by clicking on Weekly Reading.

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