What is bragging? Why is it wrong?
1 Corinthians 4:7What 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?
How often each day are we tempted to give glory to ourselves when we ought to be giving glory to God? Paul was confronting his Corinthian sisters and brothers about their habit of siding with certain leaders and disdaining others. But good leadership is simply another reason to praise God, for even our leaders come from him. There’s never a reason to brag about our personal connections to one leader or another.
1 Corinthians 3:21-23Don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you—whether Paul or Apollos or Peter, or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Bragging or boasting is often a thinly veiled attempt to claim credit for good things that have happened in our lives. We manage to deflect glory onto ourselves even when we are extolling the virtues of others. We also do this when we talk about God in a tone that suggests God is fortunate to have us in his corner. True humility continually directs glory to God without claiming any personal credit.
Jeremiah 9:23-24This 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!”
This passage, referenced twice by the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 1:31, 2 Corinthians 10:17), conveys the humility involved in deliberately moving the spotlight off ourselves and onto God. Confidently stating that we know God implies that we are not God, which is a helpful starting point for humility. Perspicacity, power, and possessions are three common measurements of human success, and all of them are subject to loss. None of them finally equals the wonder of intimate knowledge of God.
Jeremiah 46:17They will say, “Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is a loudmouth who missed his opportunity!”
History records empire after empire that has risen and seemed invincible only to crumble from within or be crushed from without. When leaders of an empire at its zenith brag about their achievements, they fail to recognize the brevity of their success, which is determined by God. This is true in our lives as well: Today’s bragging is often the prelude to tomorrow’s humiliation.
Psalm 75:5Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.
Bragging is obnoxious and egocentric talk about oneself. It reveals a big head and a big mouth. But in reality a big mouth usually indicates a small mind and a lack of self-confidence. This is never clearer than when mere creatures dare to brag in God’s face.
Proverbs 27:1Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.
There are many humble and wise ways to talk about tomorrow and the future. None of them include bragging about even the next moment, over which we have little control. Better to humbly make plans to continue serving the Lord, understanding that he alone can give or deny us a tomorrow.
James 3:14If you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.
Inflated claims and false impressions often mask seething envy of others and selfish longings. God insists that we pull off the covering and repent over what is hiding beneath.
James 4:13-16Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
Overconfidence in our ability to control what lies ahead is a form of bragging. There are many uncertainties about the future that only God knows. It’s always better to make our plans conditional on God’s plans.
Matthew 6:2-4When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
We don’t brag only with our words—bragging also includes arranging situations so that we get glory for things we do for others. It is better to serve anonymously than to seek the approval of others.
