The exhortation to "magnify the Lord" is familiar to most readers of the Bible because it is found several times in both the Old and New Testaments (e.g., Job 36:24; Ps. 34:3; 69:30; Luke 1:46; Acts 10:46). For years I had regarded it as simply an ancient ceremonial phrase; but just recently something happened to change my view of it.
I had been vaguely aware that within my own thinking—in conversations I had with others, in magazine articles and news reports that caught my eye, even in dramas I watched on television—the focus was often on adversity. Somehow a discussion of good events or ideas didn't seem nearly as fascinating as a recital of woes.
Then one day I was talking in my office with a student. I didn't expect to have much difficulty encouraging him, because his talents were obvious to me. But he didn't seem to agree. Every time I mentioned what I saw as one of his assets, he managed either to turn it into a liability or to trivialize it. I became incredulous as I watched him argue against himself with great skill and persistence. He was truly acting as his own worst enemy.
