Boasting in the Lord

“Boasting in the Lord”

 (“Christ Jesus…became for us divine wisdom and righteousness and holiness and redemption, so that as has been written, ‘Let the boaster boast in the Lord.’” 1 Corinthians 1:30b, 31)

Have you ever noticed someone who simply can never be wrong? Suppose a friend misplaces a book they were reading at your house. He calls you up and says, “I know my book is over there. I’ve looked all over my house and in my car. I even opened up my dog’s mouth. It’s not here, so you must have it.”

So you go looking, but you are pretty sure you saw your friend leave the house with the book in his hand. After looking through your entire house, and even opening the mouth of your pet piranha, you also do not find the book. You call you friend back.

“I’m sorry; I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find your book. I think I remember you leaving with it.” “What are you talking about,” your friend replies. “The book is at my house.” “Oh, great. I’m glad you found it.”

But here comes the craziness. “Found it? What in the world are you talking about? I had it all the time.” “Excuse me”, (you are aghast). “You called me and insisted it was at my house.” “What? I never said that.” “I’m sorry, yes you did.” “No. Why would I say that when I had the book here all the time?”

And, so it goes. The one friend is so protective of their infallibility that they won’t acknowledge they were wrong about the book’s location. Being “right” has taken such a high place in their thinking that they will deny that a conversation even took place just to make it clear they had not made a mistake.

Perhaps we do not think of that sort of behavior as “boasting”. But boasting manifests itself in many ways. We probably have all encountered people who insistently express an opinion. “There has never been a good thing to say about San Francisco. And that’s a fact!” It is not uncommon conduct. Reading it on the page though, we are quite certain that their statement is truly an “opinion”, not fact.

Unfortunately, this behavior seeps into other areas that make it toxic. When we say that someone is “a liar and always deceiving” we are making a judgment, not stating fact. Making political opponents out to be evil is opinion, not fact. Making someone think they are sick because of sin in their life is opinion, not fact.

Honestly, we who have been made new in Christ don’t need this sort of protective behavior anymore. We should throw it out like clothing infested with moths. We have been given the divine wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption in Christ. That is a mouthful, I know.

Here’s what I believe it is saying. If we are to call ourselves believers, then our whole way of thinking has been turned upside down. We are no better, no worse by believing. We are people who have found only one thing to boast about: The great forgiveness obtained for us by Jesus at the cross!

“Let the boaster boast in the Lord.” Throw off the conceit. Throw off the need to be right. Be transformed inside and out by the very nature of Christ.

Jesus wasted no time boasting about Himself. Confronted by Pilate, He remained silent. Healing the blind man, He told him to tell no one what had happened. On the night He was betrayed, He became the servant to His disciples, washing each one of their dusty feet. On the cross He forgave those who mocked Him, cared more about His mother’s welfare than His own, and accomplished the task that made Him actually appear to be a failure. He died a cruelly tortured death.

His suffering, His humility, His constant compassion for the crowds who were like sheep with no shepherd to guide them; all of these are the “wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption” of which this passage speaks. The question really is: Are we willing to live a life consistent with the path Jesus laid out?

There is no cause for boasting along that path. The only boast is in the Lord Himself. “I am merely a follower of Jesus. He is the One who has remade my life. He is the One who forgave my sins. How can I not serve Him who sacrificed and suffered for me?” Let us lay aside our need to be right! Let us boast only in Jesus, who made all things right between us and God. How can we not boast of such a love as this?