Craig Clouston

 Flatter or Favor?

He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.

Proverbs 28:23

Carlos’s role in the corporation’s steady growth over the past two quarters had earned him the lead on one of their largest projects. At the moment, he was meeting with a team of advisors to determine what the company should do next in preparation for launching the twenty-five-thousand-dollar ad campaign.

“Our target audience is twenty-two to forty-five-year-old females,” he said, directing everyone’s attention to the built-in monitors in the conference table. “Okay, sounds good.” “That sounds about right.” “Great!” “You’re the man,” came responses from the ingratiating group.

“All right. Let’s move on,” said Carlos, believing the matter was settled.

“Hold on a minute,” interrupted Brendan. “I’m not sure we should limit our ad to females. I believe we’d be missing a large portion of potential customers if we target them alone.”

Conversation immediately ceased as everyone waited for this ad exec wannabe to get shut down.

But to their amazement, Carlos simply asked, “Okay, what do you have in mind?”

“Well,” he pressed, “we’re coming into the Christmas season. I believe that if we include our target audience’s counterpart, twenty-two to forty-five-year-old males, we can increase sales by targeting their purchases for their spouses and girlfriends.”

“I like it,” he said. “Let’s figure out how to incorporate them into this marketing strategy. Good work, Bishop.”

†

Carlos hadn’t gotten where he was by figuring it out all on his own. Realizing he didn’t have all the answers, he was open to criticism. We would do well to follow his lead. By refusing to listen to or give useful criticism, we are cutting ourselves and others off from useful correction. We also must not accept everything presented to us as accurate or just. We must assess each situation and speak up where necessary.

If we approach each situation with sensitivity, we will discover a greater capacity for understanding in which we can both hear and be the voice of reason by departing from a closed-minded mentality. Do we want to flatter or gain favor?

Prayer

“Lord, help me recognize when I need to listen to criticism or confront certain issues in love. Give me the wisdom I need to do what’s right. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”