There are people who reach the pinnacle
of glory by impression (virtue) of their calling and yet have their feet firmly
on the ground. Then there are people who struggle a lot to see their dreams
come true into realities, and when they have, they thank God and their friends
and well-wishers for being a support. Finally, there are people who are simply
a disloyal drop in the ocean and they think they are the ocean itself. Such
people are always busy assembling a verbal collage of praise for themselves and
the type of work they do. They rant and rave about every little thing under the
sun. To themselves they appear perfect.
The Bible says that when a person
measures himself by himself, he is not wise. He may claim to be wise, highly
intellectual and he might tell you that he is so popular that you should be
honoured that he chose you to spend his day with! But actually, he is an
unlikable man with a hardly any real friends. You get irritated with such
people who keep showing off their possessions and bragging about their
achievements, and of the number of influential people they know.
Self-praise leads to vanity and egoism
and is considered bad in almost every faith and religion. Boasting is not a
good sign and always proves counterproductive. The fact that you say of
yourself as being the best doesn’t necessarily mean that others on this planet
earth are the worst. If you are the best, you should be everywhere; how come
then the others are where you are not.
You may only deny the very act of
boasting if you think you are a person of exceptional ability and address. None
of us is so perfect to claim this stature; and if you actually are of this
outstanding and towering address then you don’t even need to boast yourself.
When you indulge in boasting, you are
in reality insulting the sound intelligence and wisdom of the people who you
think should be supporting your gossip. You lose your faith in them and what
they develop of you is an outstanding image of being a dishonest, self-centered
and a highly dis-interesting character. Let another praise you, and not your own
mouth; not your own lips, someone else’s. It is not good to eat too much honey,
nor is it honourable to seek one's own honour.
Having self-confidence, knowing your
strengths and being proud of your accomplishments are admirable attitudes. But
you don't have to try to impress anyone especially those people who hardly know
you. Others can see who you are and what you are made of from your attitudes
and personality. Just do what you are good at and the results will show.
You should avoid occasions to praise
yourself. If you are faithful to do what God has called you to do with
excellence and pure motives, in time, God will praise you. This may happen
publicly or possibly just within your own heart. You may not even hear the
words of praise until you pass from this life to the next, but you will hear
them.
Boasting is evil and against God, but
why does the Bible say to boast in God? Boasting about God is included along
with Praising Him, while boasting about yourself is included with hating God
and inventing evil things. You boast about God and please him; you boast about
yourself and disgust him. God is worthy of praise, and we should all praise and
worship him by boasting in Him.
God praises the humble, not those who
befriend the rich and the famous, and He promises to exalt the humble at the
appointed time. Jesus Christ's example of humility helps us to realize the meek
stature of true Christians. In Him we see the summit of virtue from which the
apostles drew illustrations and warnings for us. He gave up inexpressible glory
to take upon Himself the humble form of humanity and perform the lowliest of
services to us. He agreed to be without honour and was willing to be reviled
and ignored. When He laid aside his former rank and dignity, He became as
nothing, yet now He is exalted above everything and everyone. He set this
example for us that we might overcome boasting and develop the praising trait
of true humility.
Grace eliminates for us the possibility
of any boasting. Regardless of our material accomplishments-no matter how may
doctorate degrees we may have, how much money we may have amassed, or how many
good deeds we may have done or how many languages we are good at—no one can
boast before God because, we are "of Him”. All that we have accomplished
has been done only because of what He gave. We are important only because God
has made us the focus of His creative efforts, not because of anything inherent
within us. We have great potential because of God's workmanship now in progress,
but apart from His purposes, we are nothing but animated clay.
God ultimately removes all the physical
accomplishments of the self-exalted person. Anyone who glories in himself will
receive his true reward in due time in the form of denunciation, disgrace,
degradation, and humiliation. Glory is praise, honour, or distinction extended
by common consent. If we glory in ourselves, it is because no one else is
glorifying us for our perceived accomplishments—probably because we have done
no real, glorious deeds in the first place.
The LORD says: Let not the wise and
skillful person glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and
powerful person glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person
who is rich [in physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in
his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] riches; But let him who glories glory
in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly
discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices
loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things
I delight, says the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Therefore, instead of
praising ourselves, we should strive to approve ourselves to God. In a word, let
us glory in the Lord our salvation, and in all other things only as evidences
of his love, or means of promoting his glory. Instead of praising ourselves, or
seeking the praise of men, let us desire that honour which comes from God only.
***********************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment