THE ONLY PROPER BOASTING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A wide receiver catches the game winning touchdown with just seconds left in the game and when interviewed and asked how he was able to do it, he spends a lot of time speaking about his dedication to the game and all the hard work he puts in to hone his receiving skills.

A millionaire is asked how he was able to amass his riches and he goes into a lengthy discussion about his hard work and dedication in the business world and how he has developed a knack for knowing the stock market and how to invest his money wisely.

A famous model who is asked about her fame and success talks at length about the hard work she invests to make sure her body looks just right for the camera and her army of adoring fans.

A nation wins a war and then touts the prowess of their fighting forces and national strength as reasons for the victory.

A church pastor, when asked about the mission of the church, goes on and on and on about how great the church is and all the things it is doing in the community.

I could go on here with a lot of other examples but the point has been made.

There are any number of things that a person or nation or organization or church can boast about and they usually do with ease. But note what is missing in all these examples.

There is no mention of the Lord in the midst of each instance of bragging. All the praise and credit was turned inward in a self-aggrandizing way and as we see from our scripture passage today, that is not the proper application of boasting as set forth by the word of God. Look at these verses again here:

This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 9:23-24

Note that this isn’t the prophet or priest telling the Israelites what to do. No, the speaker is here is none other than the Lord God Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth and all things in them, the Master of all things. It was God who directed the wise not to boast of their wisdom but to rather give the glory to Him, the Author and Provider of wisdom. Ditto for the strong who were not to boast of their own strength but rather the strength God had given them. And you can apply this principle to any and all situations where there might be an inclination to take credit for yourself.

The wide receiver is not to boast of his own ability to catch the touchdown pass but rather give thanks to God for granting Him the talent to play football and the opportunity to win the game for the team.

The millionaire is not to boast of his own knack of gaining riches but rather give thanks to God for blessing Him with such an abundance to use to His glory, and then detail how the riches God has given are being used to that end.

The model would praise God for granting her the beauty to do what she gets to do, acknowledging that she would not be able to model if God had not purposed her for it, giving Him all her honor and thanks.

The nation who wins the war immediately gives God the thanks and praise for leading them to victory, confessing that it was by His strength and power that they were able to overcome the enemy.

And the church pastor would spend less time glorifying the church and more time connecting God and His word to each thing the church was achieving, showing how the church was simply being obedient to carrying out God’s plan for it. In that instance, God is the center of attention and the object of the credit.

In the end translation, the only proper boasting is when we boast about the Lord and give Him all the credit and tribute. Everything we do should be done with the mindset of making the Lord more famous than ourselves for we are blessed with just the simple opportunity to know Him, the One who perfectly exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness. Through God and God alone, we can do all things no matter what happens, because He is a God who is always with us and for us.

And my friends, this is what we need to really be boasting about.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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