The opposite of being humble is being boastful. I know you have met this kind of person, the one who walks around like “they are all that and then some.” This is the person who takes all of the praise that others offer but when someone has constructive criticism, it bounces right off of them. After all, they usually consider themselves perfection walking. I never wanted to be that person but when I was younger, I wore pride like a badge. I was proud of my grades in college, proud of my personal achievements, proud of what I had accomplished without a lot of parental support or encouragement. I can’t remember boasting outright, but if someone asked me how I did in college, I answered with my GPA and the fact that I was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. So, yes, it was boasting. It wasn’t long after my graduation from college that I was introduced to the Lord, so my foray into being a braggart was short, thank goodness! Nevertheless, it was something that was in my past that Jesus forgave me for, among many other things, of course. Since I wrote about humility earlier this week, I decided I should cover the topic of boasting, too. What does God say about boasting?

If you are going to boast, there is only one thing that is worthy to boast about and that is that you have the understanding to know the Lord. And, honestly, I don’t think you can really boast about that either unless you are using it as a testimony to the power of the Lord because even the understanding you have about Him as your Lord and Savior comes from Him. You haven’t done anything, you can’t do anything, and you don’t deserve anything…yet God in His great love and mercy reached out, opened your mind to understand Who He is and what He has done for you and even allows you to boast about having the understanding that He gave you. So, you have done a lot in your life to be proud of? Those crowns will one day be laid at the feet of Jesus, so you may as well begin practicing now by giving Him all of the glory for all that HE has done through you. It is freeing to be released from the burden of boasting, knowing that all comes from God and whatever you think you have done is a result of His power in your life. I could do nothing without Him and neither can you.

Let’s Talk About Jesus

May you have a blessed day as you talk about Jesus!