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Exaggeration
There have been times when I was speaking abroad, and my hosts exaggerated my introduction so much that I was not sure I was the one being introduced. Should I correct the faulty info or just ignore it and get on with my message?
The thought of exaggerated introductions reminds me of the story of the rich and famous business leader who was the guest speaker at a small town Rotary Club somewhere in rural Idaho. The whole town was thrilled to have a big-city business celebrity in their midst. The excited emcee blustered on and on as he introduced this important guest:
“It is my privilege to introduce our illustrious guest speaker.
He hails from Houston, Texas.
He made his fortune in the oil business.
He has given over $30 million to charity.
He will speak on ‘How You Can Be Successful.’
Let’s welcome John D. Johnson.”
With that intro, a humble looking man walked to the platform and started his speech with these words:
“I need to make a few minor corrections before I give my speech. First, I am not from Houston, Texas. I’m from Horton, Tennessee. And, it was not the oil business; it was used cars. It was not $30 million; it was $3 thousand. And, it was not me; it was my cousin. But, I am glad to be here and I appreciate the warm welcome.”
Exaggeration has been around for a long time. Thousands of years ago, the crowds sang a song that exaggerated David’s exploits:
Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. (1 Samuel 18:7)
Tens of thousands? More like three. In reality David had killed exactly one lion, one bear, and one giant. Not hundreds, not thousands, and certainly not tens of thousands. Three.
David seemed to keep a firm grip on reality and not let this exaggerated PR machine go to his head. On the other hand, Saul had probably not actually killed thousands as the song said, but he seemed to not only believe the exaggeration, but thought it did not stretch the facts far enough.
I have found that both my friends and my critics tend to exaggerate about me. My friends try to make me look better than reality, and my critics try to make me look worse. Proud fools only accept a friend’s inflated view and will end up in deception. On the other extreme, those who are morbidly introspective tend to fully accept a critic’s negative exaggeration and will end up paralyzed by condemnation and insecurity.
I have learned that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of friendly and critical exaggerations.
Because we all have some residual pride and insecurity, we are all tempted to exaggerate at times. Why would the pastor of a church with 8,000 members exaggerate and say he has 12,000? Why would an evangelist insist that the crowd of 100,000 was actually 500,000? Why would the leader of the small group say he is ministering to fifteen when he normally has eight? A church of 8,000 is already huge. A crowd of 100,000 is massive. A small group with eight disciples is great. But, because of our insecurity and pride, we stretch the facts to impress friends and strangers who probably would have been impressed with the real facts.
My friend Scott, a big tall American who has served many years as a missionary in Japan, has a good response for those who exaggerate about his ministry accomplishments. When he is introduced, as he often is, as “the pastor of the largest church in Japan”, Scott humbly corrects the emcee by stating that he does not actually pastor the largest church in Japan, but he is the largest pastor in Japan.
May we take to heart Paul’s exhortation to the Romans to not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment. (Romans 12:3)
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