Boasting

Boasting

What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?

1 Corinthians 4:7

If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

2 Corinthians 11:30

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 6:14

“I can top that!” Do you ever catch yourself saying or thinking that sentence when someone else tells you about an exciting experience or shows you a prized possession or describes a successful accomplishment? Everybody is tempted to one-up the other person—to have a better story, to show more knowledge, to be more impressive, or to be better connected. And when we give in to that temptation to make ourselves look good, it is called boasting.

Boasting about yourself—your accomplishments, your possessions, your looks, your connections—is taking credit for the distinctive abilities, gifts, and opportunities God has given you.

But there is a good kind of boasting. It is boasting in God. You can never exaggerate the greatness of God, because he is infinitely greater than we could ever imagine or describe. When we boast in the Lord, we say through our words and actions that we’re relying on who Jesus is and what he has done for us rather than on our own strength. We see every good thing in our lives as a gift from him. We realize we have done nothing to earn or deserve the favor of God, but he has chosen to love us. And that is our only boast: “Jesus loves me, this I know.”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Think about recent conversations with your friends. What did you or the other people boast about?

How can we use the gifts God has given us with confidence and humility, and without boasting?

What verse from the Bible would you like to think about when you are tempted to boast?