LIVING IN THE NO-BRAG ZONE
2 Corinthians 10:17-18 CSB
17 So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. 18 For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.
We are living in the days of self-promotion and brand management. Many people are all about promoting their own personal brand. The old timers among us would call it tooting your own horn. A blunter phrase is bragging. Boasting is the same thing, except that it sounds less harsh than bragging. The Free Dictionary says to boast is "To talk or write about oneself or something related to oneself in a proud or self-admiring way." Another definition says bragging is talking about oneself in a self-impressed way. Paul was not a fan of bragging, boasting, or self-promoting. Neither is the Lord.
Paul was a proponent of giving credit where credit was due. Paul also knew that the credit belonged to the Lord. Verse seventeen is a quote taken from Jeremiah 9:23-24. "This is what the LORD says: Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!" Paul also wrote about only boasting in the Lord in his first letter to the Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 1:31) NKJV
Paul was not against boasting. He was against boasting in man. The boasting Paul promoted was boasting in the Lord. To talk about the Lord in a God-admiring way. David, in Psalm 34:2 NKJV, wrote, "My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad." And now, we are getting to the crux of the matter. Whenever we are boasting about the Lord, the humble hear and are glad. So when we boast in the Lord, the proud are not glad. You may have experienced this. People have tried to make a big deal out of me, and I am giving credit to the Lord for His goodness and mercy. Often, they will respond with Yeah, but you did this and that and try to push the credit, the glory, back to me. But I ain't having it. Pardon my poor English. But those who will not boast about the Lord with me are quite frankly proud. If the apostle Paul would only boast in the Lord, who do I think I am? No thank you. I am staying on the safe side and only boasting in what the Lord has done.
Paul sums up his thoughts by declaring it is not those who commend themselves that are approved. But only the ones the Lord commends. We can boast about ourselves all day long but it's only when the Lord approves of us that we are going somewhere. But when the Lord is commending us, man's approval is extremely weak in comparison.
APPLICATION
I grew up with a relative who was known for bragging. I could be a bit kinder and say this relative was prone to boasting. However, his boasting was in himself, not the Lord. I was a witness to how boasting does not build relational bridges. I watched as other family members moved away from this relative. Boasting impacted me in a very negative way then, and I still have little use for it today.
If you are going to talk big, talk big about God. Talk big about His love and the strength and courage that Jesus exhibited when He was on earth. Talk big about the Holy Spirit and His power to help and lead. God's kingdom gives us plenty to brag about. So there is no need to brag about us.
PRAYER
Lord, Your approval means much more than my own self-approval or the approval of others. You have given me plenty to brag about, so I chose to brag about You.