Believers Can Boast

For many of us, boasting is a negative word.  Our parents taught us about the dangers of gloating and the benefits of being humble.  Our teachers warned us that boasting would alienate other students and give us the appearance of being arrogant or self-centered.  A basic definition for the word is “to talk with excessive pride about one’s accomplishments.”  Synonyms such as brag, gloat, and show off give this word a deeper meaning.  The source of boasting is really pride; a person’s pride causes them to boast and you may have read verses such as:  Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” or Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate.”  God hates a prideful attitude.  He gives grace to the humble.  So, am I to understand that any boasting on my part is wrong?

    Well, let’s discuss the two sides of pride.  It is one thing to be braggadocious and have a highly inflated view of yourself.  Or to accomplish any feat in life then sit back and admire how smart you are.  This is a negative type of pride.  The other side of the coin is the pride that you might have in your job.  You might pride yourself on being on time.  You might take pride in the things you accomplish because of all the hard work you put in.  It is ok to finish college and feel proud.  A son may strive to make his father proud and within limits, this is good.  So, the word pride is not always bad.  It depends on what side of the coin an action falls on.

What does this mean for us?  Paul says, in I Corinthians 1:31, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  Paul is saying that if you are going to “talk with excessive pride,” then you should talk with excessive pride about the Lord.  You should talk with excessive pride over the things He has done for you.  You should talk with excessive pride about the kingdom of God which you belong. You should brag about Jesus.  You should gloat about how the Creator formed the whole world and how Jesus holds everything together by the word of His power.  You should show off your testimony so that many can see what God has done for you.  Paul said it best in Galatians 6:14 when he states, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Will you boast with me today?

Dave F. 

   ‘69 / ‘76 / Egg Harbor Twp   NJ