Affected praise or flattery to gain a person’s will. It is usually done to satisfy the self-esteem or vanity of the one who is flattered, and therefore it is harmful. Flattery is intended to win the favor or material benefits of another person, or to create in him a feeling of obligation to the flatterer. Often the intention is to set a trap for the one being flattered. (Pr 29:5) Flattery is not a characteristic of wisdom from above but of this world, since its root is selfishness, distinctions, and hypocrisy. (Jas 3:17) Insincerity, lying, flattery, and the glorification of men in order to take advantage of their vanity, are things that displease God. (2Co 1:12; Ga 1:10; Eph 4:25; Col 3:9; Re 21:8.)
At 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6 the apostle Paul contrasts Christian behavior with a flattering attitude, saying: “For the exhortation that we give does not come from error, nor from uncleanness, nor from deceit, but, just as we have been tried and recognized by God as fit to have the good news entrusted to us, so we speak, as pleasing, not to men, but to God, who tests our hearts. In fact, on no occasion have we presented ourselves either with flattering speech (as you know) or with a feigned appearance for greed, God is my witness! Nor have we been seeking glory from men, no, neither from you nor from others, though we might be a costly burden as apostles of Christ† .
Although flattery may seem advantageous at first, the Bible notes that “he that reproves a man will afterward find more favor than he that flatters with his tongue.” (Pr 28:23) Flattery for one person to gain an advantage over another is precisely the opposite of showing love. He who hates may resort to flattery, but in the long run his deception will turn against him. (Pro 26:24-28)
He who flatters uses honeyed words to seduce his victim. The expressions “flatter” , “smooth” (Ps 5:9; 12:2, 3; Da 11:32), “smoothness” (Pr 7:21), “smoothness” (Da 11:34, note) and † œdouble-faced† (Eze 12:24, ftn) are translations of the Hebrew root cha·láq and its derivatives. In all the Biblical cases cited, the motive for which he employs smooth talk is bad.
Herod Agrippa I is an example of the disastrous result to which listening with pleasure to flattery and flattery leads. When the crowd acclaimed him with the cry of “voice of a god”, he accepted the flattery and did not give God the glory, so the angel of God struck him down, so that he died. (Ac 12:21-23) However, when a crowd wanted to treat Paul and Barnabas as gods, they prevented them from doing so. (Ac 14:11-15) Similarly, when a Jewish ruler attempted to flatter Jesus with the title “Good Teacher,” he corrected him on the spot, saying: “Why do you call me good? No one is good, but only one, God† . (Lu 18:18, 19; compare Job 32:21, 22.)
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
A. NAMES 1. eulogia (eujlogiva, 2129), which generally means blessing, is used in Rom 16:18 in its most literal sense of “good saying”, translated “flattery”; that is, a good style of speech that gives the appearance of sanity; see PRAISE, GENEROSITY. 2. kolakia (or –eia) (kolakiva, 2850), related to kolakeuo, to flatter. It is used in 1Th 2:5, from “flattering words” (lit.: “flattering words”), adopted as a cover for covetousness; that is, words used flatteringly, not just in an effort to please, but with self-serving motives.¶ B. Adjective Note: Kolakia, see A, No. 2, found at 1Th 2:5, translates to the RVR in the form of an adjective: “flattering” (VM, Besson: “of flattery”).¶
Source: Vine New Testament Dictionary