Boasting
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
If you’ve ever watched a professional football game, you know that when a player scores a touchdown, chances are he will showboat his great feat. Throughout a game you’ll probably never see a player who scored a touchdown tell the crowd to stop cheering for him and start cheering for the player who threw the pass. It’d be a very rare situation if it happened, and if it did happen, you’d probably start to wonder about his seemingly abnormal motives.
A lot of times you and I tend to think of ourselves as responsible for the accomplishments in our lives. We are selfish human beings and love getting medals, ribbons or trophies - visual recognitions of our great achievements. The reality is that not one of us would have gotten those awards if not for a coach, teacher, pastor, or professor to guide us and teach us the necessary skills for success. The only time that we may actually thank them (and often we simply don’t) is only when we do well at a competition, graduation, or promotion. In reality, we should be seeking times to thank our mentors for all of the hard work they put into us. They don’t do the work for themselves, but for us, the ones being taught, so that we may find success in life.
Now think about our Savior, Jesus Christ. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for us, put in the most work anyone could ever do, and suffered our punishments. And why? So that we could find “success” one day, through faith, by going to heaven. Jesus also had no pride and did not boast over what he did. He is the LORD God Almighty, and yet, by his grace, he humbled himself for us. God tells us in Philippians 2:7: “Christ Jesus made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” This passage reminds us that Jesus was so humble that he became like a servant. Because he did that for us, we have nothing to boast in except the glorious work of Jesus.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: When does having pride become a sin? Do you have to be constantly serving someone to be humble? What are some ways you can be more humble?
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: Thank Christ for being a servant so you can enjoy the eternal “success” of heaven. Pray for the strength to live a humble life. Give Christ Jesus praise and honor for being our Savior.