Never does the vanity and conceit of self-praising preachers get any less vulgar.
To see sages traipsing the stage praising themselves is quite bizarre.
What next? Playing recordings of others praising them?
Long ago we learned that the act of praising another is akin to breaking their back.
Throw dust in the face of those who praise people in their presence, we learned.
But it is worse than that now, for today we praise ourselves with exaggerated praise.
Not just amongst close companions, but before great crowds, broadcast worldwide.
Surely this is not the way it was meant to be. Verses of our Book spring to mind.
“Do not ascribe purity to yourselves…”
“And God does not love the arrogant, boastful…”
Where is the humility and modesty once so central to our path?
Where the shyness that once caused us to acknowledge that only God is worthy of praise?
In this age of celebrity, we have completely forgotten ourselves.
If only we had shunned fame, contenting ourselves with a life of obscurity.
Last modified: 29 December 2023
