Friday Fight 132: Before Boasting

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help me fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF132.

When we talk about overcoming a struggle, enduring a challenge, or an achievement, most of us begin celebrating in some way. It may be a post, party, celebration, or time spent with those close to us who can appreciate the difficulty in experiencing new joy in our lives. It is a normal response to commemorate a new beginning. But who are we giving credit to, and what can we keep in mind in the process?

Before Boasting:

We all know people who will stand in the room and do nothing but talk about themselves. After a while, most of us would start looking for reasons to be needed elsewhere. Generally speaking, it isn't enjoyable. Interestingly, those who talk about themselves constantly usually have no tolerance for someone else who does the same thing.

So, what is the big deal about boasting about something we accomplished or survived? Suppose we have been praying for a new job. God opened a door, and everything from our acceptance to our ability is wholly aligned with collective prayers lifted. For most of us, our immediate reaction is to share, which is great, however, this is where the potential problem also lies. Proverbs 11:2 states, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." In those moments when we feel the need to boast about what we have done, instead look at it as what we have done because of God. Repeatedly boasting about ourselves takes credit for God's power when truly our only power is to destroy ourselves. Before boasting about something God designed and aligned, thank Him, then give Him the recognition He deserves.

We should still express happiness in what we have achieved; however, there is a fine line to be aware of to prevent our frame of mind from being compromised. When we repeatedly take credit and remove God from the achievement, we feed our flesh, and pride slowly devours. The sin of pride can be challenging to address because, as a wise man once told me, it's difficult to tell a prideful person they are being prideful. Why? Because sinful pride, very different from being proud of someone, is fundamentally contaminating and will always manipulate to remain. This sin of our attitude has many indicators, but elevating ourselves through misplaced confidence is dangerously where it begins. We will eventually elevate ourselves above God.

Shifting our tone from where we take credit for what God enabled and instead give Him glory, is a constant reminder that we always rely on God and not ourselves. To achieve this, we remain humble and constantly die to ourselves. This death means crucifying the desires in our flesh, in this case, taking credit for God's power by elevating ourselves. Crucifying our flesh with Christ is crucial. Paul refers to our constant hunger for pleasure, which is removed when we deny ourselves. We won't always achieve it, but we know the steps to attain this death each day.

In each post, we learn, are reminded, or receive a confirmation or correction of some kind. Whatever the case, when we read, apply, then pray, we strengthen our spiritual bodies, leaving fewer areas for darkness to operate. So, let's honor what God has done by giving Him credit instead of taking it. In our reverence of Him, our joy in what we accomplished is experienced through our obedience to Him, which enabled our accomplishment. We have little to do with our success. Instead, through our daily surrender and unity with Christ, we experience God's success that blesses us by submitting to Him. We can be proud of ourselves, our family, or many other things. This is completely different from sinful pride. Let’s try to value and appreciate the achievements of God in our lives by applying this reminder.

Photo Credit: Michele LaSala

Pastor Shannon

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