The Only Thing Worth Bragging About 

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV) – 23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

The problem with boasting is that it is not sustainable. What you boast about today ceases to exist the next day and you are left in shame. You are forced to swallow your pride.  You end up regretting why you were boasting.

Boasting comes with an element of showing others that you are better than them. At the time of boasting no one can stand against you. This is because you have evidence that you are the goat, the greatest of all time. Since boasting is not sustainable, you soon discover that others are better than you and you can’t do anything about it.

Boasting hurts the feelings of others. Boasting is careless. Boasting is self-centered. Boasting is the antithesis of being Christ like!

Boasting removes others from the picture, yet nothing in life is achieved alone. Boasting denies opportunity of satisfaction for what they contributed to. Boasting is stealing the limelight from the team so that it can focus on you alone. A close look at anything we can ever be proud of shows that others also made a contribution for us to succeed. Boasting is theft of rights!

Boasting is godlessness. Boasting deflects attention from God to us. Boasting insinuates that we have made achievements by our own abilities and strength. Boasting refuses to acknowledge the integral role played by God. Those who boast know that once they acknowledge God they become irrelevant and they have nothing to boast about. Boasting is a rejection of God!

“I want to thank me for believing in me, I want to thank me for doing all this hard work. I wanna thank me for having no days off. I wanna thank me for never quitting. I wanna thank me for always being a giver and trying to give more than I receive. I wanna thank me for trying to do more right than wrong. I wanna thank me for being me at all times….” – November 19, 2018, Snoop Dog

Snoop Dog thanked many other people then thanked himself. This section where he thanks himself has been abused. It has been recited by boastful people who unlike Snoop do not thank anyone else at the beginning. They use it to center on themselves and no one else. It’s a dangerous trend that believers shouldn’t even joke about. Some jokes end up being a way of life.

The only thing we should boast about is our relationship with God. This is something that can’t be taken away. Our relationship with God acknowledges God and accommodates other people. Our faith in God is sure and it will not be affected by time. Boast about your relationship with God!

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (Message Bible) – God’s Message: “Don’t let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don’t let heroes brag of their exploits. Don’t let the rich brag of their riches. 24  If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I’m God, and I act in loyal love. I do what’s right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks.” God’s Decree.

Anything else other than our relationship with God will not last. Anything else we brag about, we will regret. Our relationship with God is guaranteed by God and will therefore stand the test of time.

Psalms 20:7 (NIV) – Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

David has chariots in his army but he doesn’t brag about them. He brags about the name of God. This same David told Goliath that he is sure to kill him in the name of God. Goliath bragged about his experience and weaponry, but David came in God’s name. We brag about God’s name, not our abilities, experience or what we have. God’s name never fails!

Romans 8:31 (NIV) – What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:37 (NIV) – No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Apostle Paul and the early church could only boast of God’s name. If God is for us, not if we have money, not if we have the government on our side, but if God is for us… God makes a difference, not people, not experience and not material things. Then Paul declares that we are more than conquerors through God, not through networks, not through use of AI, but through God. Paul and the early church bragged through God!

Philippians 4:13 (NIV) – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Apostle Paul declares that he can survive any extreme through God. Not through stamina. Not through experience. Not through any human ability. Everything human expires and fails. He never fails!

Revelation 12:11 (NIV) – They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

The guaranteed victory is in the blood of Jesus. Victory that will not be taken away. Victory over Satan. The only valid boasting is in our relationship with God. 

Prayerfully reflect on your relationship with God and be proud of it. Study the Bible prayerfully and daily affirm your faith in God. Reflect on how God has saved you and helped you, and be proud of it. Face what comes ahead of you with assurance that the same God who brought you this far will grant you victory. Brag in the name of God, in Jesus name, Amen!

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