“To keep us humble” by Martin Luther - Tolle Lege

“The ministers of the Gospel should be men who are not too easily affected by praise or criticism, but simply speak out the benefit and the glory of Christ and seek the salvation of souls. Whenever you are being praised, remember it is not you who is being praised but Christ, to whom all praise belongs.

When you preach the Word of God in its purity and also live accordingly, it is not your own doing, but God’s doing. And when people praise you, they really mean to praise God in you.

When you understand this–and you should because ‘What hast thou that thou didst not receive?’–you will not flatter yourself on the one hand and on the other hand you will not carry yourself with the thought of resigning from the ministry when you are insulted, reproached, or persecuted.

It is really kind of God to send so much infamy, reproach, hatred, and cursing our way to keep us from getting proud of the gifts of God in us. We need a millstone around our neck to keep us humble.”

–Martin Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, Trans. Theodore Graebner (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1939), 230-231."