Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 9:23, 24).

The word of God clearly says that a wise man should not boast of his wisdom, a mighty man should not boast of his might, and a ich man should not boast of his riches.  If God is against boasting by those who are blessed with wisdom, might and riches, there is no justification in front of God for an ordinary person to boast about anything.  It is common to notice that very ordinary people who are not gifted with anything boast a lot about themselves.  It is not acceptable  to God if anyone boasts about himself or herself. 
 
What should we boast about?
Whoever boasts should boast only in God.  We should not boast about ourselves. Others should boast about us.  We are created for good works.  We are God’s workmanship.  God likes someone boasting that you know about God.  God delights in  a person boasting about the knowledge of God, His loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth.  This warns how careful we should be in every word we utter in our day to day life. “But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord”( 2nd Corinthians 10:17a).  “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord”(1st Corinthians 1:31).  “In God we have boasted all day long, and we will give thanks to Your name forever”( Psalm 44:8).  “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually in my mouth.  My soul will make its boast in the Lord; the humble will hear it and rejoice.  O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together”( Psalm 34:1-3).  David boasted about God throughout his life, and God blessed him in every step of his life.

Why should we not boast about ourselves?
1)God does not approve those who boast about themselves.  God approves only those whom God wants to  boast about.  “For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends”( 2nd Corinthians 10:17b).
Let us think about ourselves.  Are you someone God wants to boast about?

2) Boasting is evil and sin - “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.  Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:16,17).  In 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 it says that in the last days men will be sinful in many ways and we are advised to avoid such men. Boasting is mentioned as one of those sins.

3)Boasting about us should be done by others. We should not boast about ourselves.
 “Let another praise you, and not  your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips
( Proverbs 27:2).

4)By boasting we are deceiving ourselves like blowing a balloon.
 “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another” (Galatians 6:3, 4).  There are so many fake people in the world who pretend to be someone else. Some foolish people pretend to be a wise person. Some middle class people pretend to be a millionaire. Some people who do not believe or worship God properly take high positions in the church and criticize others as if they are high ranking godly people.

5)We should not boast as everything we have is a gift from God.
 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17).  “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For  we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).  What we are today is because of the grace from God, not because of our works or merit.  God prepared us this way in advance so that we would walk in His path.

6)We are crucified with Christ, and Christ lives in us.
 As Christ did not boast, we should not boast either.   “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).  Our thoughts and actions should reflect Jesus Christ who lives in us. It doesn’t matter to God if we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, intelligent or unintelligent.

What has God done to shame the wise people?
God chooses foolish things for His glory to avoid the boasting by wise people.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.
 “Let no man deceive himself.  If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God” (1st Corinthians 3:18,19).  We can notice that God gives ordinary, humble and ignorant people divine inspiration and zeal for God.   When God is satisfied with their sincere devotion and prayers, God showers them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I know several poor people back in India who are gifted with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  God’s intention is to shame the people who seem to be wise in the eyes of the world.  Lots of times, those who pretend to be wise get jealous at those gifted people who are foolish in the eyes of the world. But God loves those who are foolish in the eyes of the world.  They believe in God easily, and God loves them.  Those who have intelligence and wisdom according to the world do not believe in God easily; so God does not give them the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  In Genesis chapter 37, we can see the brothers of Joseph underestimating him and making fun of him for his dreams given by God, which became true later.

Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3,4).

Cicily Sunny, MA, B.Ed., MSE