Boasting In The Lord (Revised on 21 Oct, 9:30pm)

I was in church today to pass an old semi-automatic SLR camera to a church member who appreciated such type of old cameras, considering that I had not touched that particular camera for close to 12 or 13 years since the advent of the digital photography.  Used to be a hobby for me but it was a little expensive with films, processing and printing and consume some real estate with the storage of the prints.

Anyway, while in church, I met a church staff and she asked me how I was and I replied “I’m OK, I looked good right? And if you did not know I’ve got cancer, you can’t tell right?”

My mind started working very quickly and at that moment, I realized that I was boasting and I quickly added that “God is good to me, very good to me…” and as I was leaving church, I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 1:31, I have included here verse 26 to 31.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
²⁶For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no man may boast before God. ³⁰But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, ³¹so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” (NASB)

After reading from verse 26 onward, I realised that for my personal life, verse 31 is not the key point.  The key is the entire passage from verses 26 to 31.  There are those who just point to verse 31 and just say that we must boast in the Lord and often boast of things like, “He gave me straight “A”s”, “I got a promotion”, “I got a huge bonus”, “God made me prosperous”, “God made me not be late for an interviews”… etc, etc.

Before I get flamed for the comment above, I‘m not saying that boasting that you got straight “A”s, promotion, bonus, prosperity, etc are wrongs, in fact for all these we should give thanks and praise God as it is His rights to receive our thanks and praise.

After reflecting on the term "Boast" or "Boasting" and "Give thanks and praise", I do believe that there is a distinction.  We should by all means give thanks and praise to God for all the things that he had done or not done and I had briefly shared about God answering or not answering prayer in the blog subject "Is God Fair?"

The online merriam-webster dictionary defines boast/boasting as:

·         intransitive verb

              i.            to puff oneself up in speech : speak vaingloriously

·         transitive verb

              i.            to speak of or assert with excessive pride

            ii.            to possess and often call attention to (something that is a source of pride)

From www.thefreedictionary.com, one of the definitions of “Boasting” is:

·         Blow one’s own trumpet

·         To brag or boast; to call attention to one’s own accomplishments, usually with the implication that no one else is likely to do so; also, to toot one’s own horn.

In essence, “boasting” in its basic forms draws attention on oneself rather than God and my failing is in the “boasting” and I had boasted of brag to the church worker.

Read the 2 following passages.

2 Corinthians 10-17-18
¹⁷But HE WHO BOASTS IS TO BOAST IN THE LORD. ¹⁸For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends. (NASB)

Jeremiah 9:23-24
²³Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; ²⁴but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. (NASB)

I had thus centered the goodness of God onto myself and boasted about myself rather than God and what a slap to the side of the head I had received from God.

For all the good that God had done, give thanks, praise Him, shout hallelujah to the Lord and give Him all glory but do not boast. Therefore, let him who boast, boast in the Lord. It is not the straight “A”s, promotion, bonus, prosperity, etc, that are to be boasted, it is God that should be boasted.

Boast in the Lord always that we understand and know Him, that He is the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for He delight in these things.

He taught me this lesson today and for that, I am thankful.

In God I Trust.