Glory Hogs

John T. McNeal –

There seems to be one in every crowd, and if there is more than one it turns into a competition. I am talking about Glory Hogs. No, I’m not talking about a motocross website or even a punk rock band out of California. I’m talking about that one person who tries to make their story more impressive – either better or worse – than the next person’s. According to urbandictionary.com, a good definition of glory hog is “When one uses a story/saying/information/anecdote that they received or overheard from another individual they know and they do not cite the source. In turn, implying that they themselves are the original source of information.”

The stories that emerge from that type of conversation seem to follow a certain pattern, for instance: We were so poor…, my car is so hot…, etc, etc, etc. There are a few people in the spotlight who really get carried away about being a Glory Hog. These people are mostly found in the locker room surrounded by sports announcers bolstering their own egos while only giving token credit to the people on the team who happened to grace them with their presence on the field.

They are even in our workplaces. I once had a co-worker who really liked to talk – about himself. One line he always seemed to rattle off was, “It’s hard to look this good, good thing I come by it naturally.” Of course there are times when everyone wants to toot their own horn. I think it is because people want to be recognized for their achievements. I will be honest and say there have been many times that I have tooted my own horn, and wanted people to build me up for my accomplishments.  But the more I was built up the smaller I felt, mostly because I was excluding God.

So when you receive that moment of praise, what do you do with it? Do you reach out for more or do you pass it on? Just image what would happen if a celebrity had his name called for a prestigious award such as a Toni, Oscar, Peabody, or Pulitzer. He starts the long walk down the aisle to the stage.  He reaches the podium and is handed the award, then the clapping slowly dies down as he approaches the microphone.  He starts to tear up a little and then begins to speak. “There is only one person here whom I can credit for my ability to receive this award.  If not for Him I could do nothing. I want to thank Jesus, my Lord and Savior, for making all this possible.” Can you imagine the impact that would make on the world?

In my search for the word glory in the Bible, I found over 351 scripture references via Biblestudytools.com.  John 7:18 (NKJ) says “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” Over the years I have found that when I humble myself and pass on the glory to God and any others who play a part in my success, I feel a lot better about my accomplishments. The accomplishment is then felt by the whole team and not just the individual. As Christians we should be encouraging each other to be better today than we were yesterday and remembering to give God the glory in the process.