Boasting and Pride

Sometime ago, I had started out to cover the various aspects of James 3.  But, life, as usual intervened and I never managed to do this one I had laid up one day sitting in the doctor's office.

We already have talked about the tongue and its destructiveness before.  And this time I want to limit our thoughts to boasting and pride.

Why?  Because the words of Bob Hartigan's son continue to echo in my mind.  He was proud of his father and obviously he had learned much from his father, through his father's tales.  And, as a father, I think this is good - as long as what the father was boasting of - was worth boasting about.

1 Corinthians 4:6-7, not to compare with Apollus
II Corinthians 10:12-18, boast only in the Lord

Boasting only in the Lord and His works,
not in what you have done,
not comparing yourself to others,
tell of what God has done with you,
not as a standard for others to follow!

Galatians 6:14, not to boast except in the cross

And the cross was the embarrassment of the newly forming Christian faith.  Imagine a religious movement based upon the sacredness of the guillotine!  It is an instrument of death, not something to cherish.  Unlike the abomination of today's church, the cross was not held high - it was the shame of the faith!  It represented death - a state execution - for capital crimes.  Sure you can argue that the cross is a symbol, but it is not the symbol of life - which is what the entire Christian faith is about!

And Paul wants to boast in nothing but the cross, the vehicle of Jesus' death.

Since the cross is not about life, then Paul must be boasting in the price Jesus paid for his (Paul's) sin before God.  If innocent blood must have been shed, it could not be Paul's or our's, we are not without sin.  But, Jesus was, and He was the sacrifice - the payment - for sin.

Now that would be an interesting thing to brag about: my sin and Jesus' need to die in my place ...  ACK!!!!!

So, you get the point, we have nothing to boast about nor to take pride in.
But, that does bring up the question, since boasting and pride are both common problems with all of mankind - then how am I supposed to fight this natural tendency?

First up is ALWAYS prayer.  God can and will aid us in fighting our problems, usually by providing more opportunities for us to not fail this time by boasting or asserting yourself over others (or take you pick of sins)!  Sort of a painful learning curve on that one because if you keep failing at step one, then you keep getting hit at the first point of your learning curve until you pass that test!

Lots of prayer!  But, do not give up!  We have so many weaknesses and when we attempt to address them, well, it can be tough!!!!!  So, I have verses I consider:

Colossians 3:15, let the peace of God rule
Proverbs 16:6-19, wisdom is greater than gold; pride equals destruction
Ephesians 4:3, unity of the Spirit

Eyes on God, not me or others.
Mind on the things of God, not man.
Heart innocent before God, not blighted by sin.
Faith in God alone.