What makes you such a big deal?
24 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!
Jeremiah 13:15-16 Listen and pay attention! Do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late.
So you feel like a big shot? Maybe you are pretty smart, have a fancy degree on the wall or maybe your degree is from the school of hard knocks, well if you think you can brag about your wisdom, don't.
Maybe you have authority and power, run a big company or maybe a church ministry or maybe you're just the king of your castle. Well if you think you can brag about your power, think again.
Maybe you have a big stash of money in the bank and you are feeling pretty secure in the midst of these economic troubles, its not worrying you but if you think you can brag about your finances, don't bother.
It's okay to boast, it's not a big deal, but there are some ground rules that you need to know. This is what you are allowed to boast about:
✔ That you truly know the Lord.
✔ That you know that the Lord demonstrates unfailing love.
✔ That you know that the Lord brings justice and righteousness to the earth.
✔ That you know that he takes great pleasure in these things.
What! That's not a list of things that we are ever inclined to brag about. We usually want to exaggerate about how much we have or how great we are, it is usually all about ourselves, so that we can impress others. Boasting usually puts the spotlight on ourselves and pushes God out of the picture, we loose our focus and begin concentrating on how self sufficient and capable we are. (Philippians 2:3-4)
Boasting in the cross
Galatians 6:14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.We should be depending on God for our worth and value. Paul told us that he will boast only about the cross, that's a turn around from the man that he used to be, he had a lot of good reasons to brag about himself but after he met Jesus all of that changed. The value of all of that other stuff was equivalent to the appraised value of a pile of garbage. (Philippians 3:7-8)
My value in God's eyes = Priceless. I don't need to build myself up and try to be somebody special because I already am!
