We live in a competitive world. Men and women compete for positions of power and influence in nations, states and cities. They compete for championships, both team and individual, in sports, and for awards and honors in the entertainment field. And although most of them provide little benefit to us directly, we praise and exalt the winners, pridefully boasting in our fanatic identification with them (Detroit Lions Pride).
Truth be told, our ability to survive and hopefully thrive in this world depends on our ability to compete and win. Once we become responsible adults, our ability to care for ourselves and for our family, with few exceptions, requires that we earn a living. And our opportunity to earn that living typically requires our engaging in a competition, what is commonly referred to as a job interview, or for some, a “tryout”. In either, we must engage in the practice of boasting, presenting to the potential employer why we alone are most worthy of that desired position.
The term boast or boasting essentially means praise. In the Bible, the word for boast is sometimes translated, glory, attesting to the supreme value we place upon something or someone. However, it mostly refers to self-praise, to describe the outward expression of pride – our sense of self-sufficiency in and self-satisfaction with ourselves in our personal talents/abilities, in our personal achievements/accomplishments, in our social status and associations, of our ancestry or our valuable possessions, which we proclaim or display for the purpose of impressing others for personal gain of some sort. It could be to obtain the acceptance and respect of others, their allegiance, trust and acceptance, their love and devotion, their compliance with our requests, their vote for our election to a position of power and influence, or as noted above, their hiring us to a desired position of employment.
When we interview for a job, we strive to present ourselves to the potential employer as someone who is competent, credible and trustworthy, someone who will be of greatest value to them in that position. In doing so we boast in our educational credentials and our job-related talents and experience. We boast in our personality qualities (I’m a great communicator/dynamic leader/fast learner), and we dress and carry ourselves in a manner we believe presents us as confident and competent. And if we are being seriously considered for the desired position, most employers will require references providing credible testimony from others to what we have boasted in. In doing so, we are hoping they will find us more desirable, more attractive, more worthy than the other candidates for the position.
And upon receiving the coveted position, we will naturally rejoice in our hearts, even celebrate with others, our talents and credentials that have brought us this position and the benefits of it (James 4:14-16).
However, if we are a Christian, we understand that our opportunities to earn a living while in this world, and the talents and experiences required, are ultimately gracious gifts of God, given for His glory and our good ((1 Corinthians 4:7) (Psalm 16:2) (1 Corinthians 1:31). As such, they are to be received with sincere and humble gratitude as are all of the other good things we enjoy in this world from a gracious and kind heavenly Father that sustain and enrich our lives (James 1:17) (1Thessalonians 5:18). As such, we ultimately have nothing to boast and rejoice in except the LORD and His gracious revelation of Himself to our hearts through His word (Psalm 34:1-3) (2 Corinthians 10:17) (Jeremiah 9:23-24) (Jeremiah 31:33-34).
And this is most true in regards to our salvation, which as I have been emphasizing is exclusively and entirely “of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). We contribute nothing to it but our need for it (Isaiah 64:5-6) (Isaiah 45:21-22). And our recognition of our need for it is also only by grace, as our prideful hearts prevent us from seeing ourselves as we really are (Jeremiah 17:9) (Proverbs 21:2).
No one wants to see themselves as a vile sinner, hated by God and destined for Hell, helpless to do anything about it but to trust in the riches of His mercy (Romans 3:9-13) (Psalm 5:5) (Ephesians 2:4:5). However, this is what we must come to sincerely acknowledge if we are to receive the benefits of what Jesus Christ came into this world to do, which is to “save sinners”, and to be glorified in doing so (Luke 18:9-14) (Titus 3:3-7) (1 Timothy 1:13-17) (Isaiah 42:1-8).
Our acknowledgment of the sinfulness of our sin and of our deserving of God’s judgement for it, our recognition of our helplessness in ourselves to do anything about it, our repentance of it, and our faith in what Jesus Christ has done through His sinless life, sacrificial death on the cross and miraculous resurrection to save us from it, are all engendered in us by grace alone through faith in Christ alone, through the word of God alone, all of which is motivated by the love of God, alone (1 John 4:10).
In this, our hearts and minds are humbled to where we can and will boast in the LORD, alone, to where He becomes the object of our deepest love and source of our greatest joy, alone (1 Corinthians 1:30-31) (1 John 4:19). To Him be the glory, honor and praise, alone, both now and forever, Amen!
Grace and Peace ×