To Encourage You

Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.’”

Do you like to talk about yourself? Be honest now. Apparently, most people love to. Otherwise, why are Facebook, Instagram, and other forms of social media so popular? Put another way, what do you hear people talking about – and what do you see in their posts? Often it’s a mention of family, vacations, personal opinions or thoughts – that sort of thing. And we enjoy hearing about what’s going on in our friends’ and family members’ lives. It’s what relationships are all about. It’s one way to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), which is a biblical command. However, we all know when the line has been crossed when what we hear goes from “sharing” to “boasting.” It’s a subtle thing, perhaps, but it’s not too hard to recognize (at least in others!).

Interestingly, the Bible talks about and even encourages boasting, at least some forms of boasting. One of the best passages that addresses this issue is the one above from Jeremiah 9. It tells us clearly the things we should boast about alongside the things about which we should not. So let’s look at the negative admonition first.

God commands those who want to honor Him with their words to refrain from boasting about how much they know (i.e., their wisdom), how strong or accomplished they are (their might), or how much money they have (their riches). But isn’t that what most people boast about? We are so quick to tell others what we think, or what we’ve accomplished, or what we’ve done with the money we’ve made (because of God’s grace and blessings in our lives, mind you). It comes so naturally, this boasting of ours. But at its heart, it’s nothing more than sin. God has warned us against it in many places in His Word. There’s the account in Acts 12 of King Herod. We are told that “On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, ‘The voice of a god, and not of a man!’ Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.” Notice how subtle that form of boasting was, i.e., he just accepted the fawning praise of others. He did nothing to stop it.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4 we are told that “love does not boast.” In other words, boasting does nothing beneficial for the people we are boasting to. It has a negative impact on others, rather than a positive one. In Luke 18:11-12 Jesus spoke of the Pharisee who even boasted in his prayers, of all things. He prayed (some Bible versions say “to himself”) in these words: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” Jesus then rebukes this “prayer” with these words “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Yet, as stated by Jeremiah in the passage above, not all boasting is bad. So what should we exalt in? What kind of “boasting” does God commend? Well, God tells us in these words: “Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” In other words, if we want to exalt in anything, it should be in the God whose ways are higher than our ways and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts “as the heavens are higher than the earth” (Isaiah 5:8-9). If we want to boast about anything, if we want others to hear us praise someone, it should be the God Who has made us. As we humble ourselves by speaking of Him, not only does God promise to lift us up, but this lifts up and blesses others around us who hear us. It was the example set for us by men like Moses, who we are told “was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). And it was an example set for us in the New Testament by the great apostle Paul, who said such things as “I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Everywhere Paul went he exalted Christ. He spoke of the glory of God, and he spoke of what God was doing in and through his life and in and through the lives of others. It was in Christ that he boasted, not in himself, and in this Christ was glorified as only He should be, for everything we are, everything we have, everything we’ve done, anything we could boast about, is all a result of what our gracious God has done in and through us. And because of that, it is always His name that we should praise, and not our own.

May God help us to glory and boast in that which glorifies Him. Let us always boast in His wisdom, His might, and His riches, and not in our own.