A Pause to Ponder God's Word
"Reason to Boast"

I was driving down the highway enjoying the music on the Christian radio station when an advertisement came on for a new album by one of today's popular Christian music artists. The advertisement listed with enthusiasm and speed the several honors and awards that this duet had received, including the number of their former albums that had been sold. The list was impressive. But, I could not help but notice that there was no reference to their relationship with Christ, or what the message of their songs were, or any type of testimony to our Savior. Granted, advertisements are not evangelistic messages and they were trying to sell an album, not present the gospel. Nevertheless, there are some questions to be addressed. Why are their awards and album sales so important? Why do we judge Christian artists like the world judges theirs? Should I, as a Christian, purchase a gospel album just because the artist is so popular? Should the artist's spiritual condition make a difference? There are a host of other questions about this issue that God's people need to address.

Christian music is not the only area of the church's life that as been affected but this perfidious problem. We often introduce preachers, special speakers, or people who are to give their testimony, by listing their accomplishments or giving a litany of their importance. Christian books have the author's name bigger than the title of the book and the number of books that have been sold clearly printed on the cover. Are we so condition by world thought, that we have adopted its practices? Scripture reveals a contrast to this practice: "Enoch walked with God;" "Joseph, a righteous man;" "Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit." Note also how people referred to themselves in Scripture: "Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ;" "James, a servant Christ;" John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." An underlining fundamental issue here is Christians and boasting.

In 2 Corinthians 10 -12 this issue is dealt with head on. False prophets have infiltrated the ranks of the church and they had done so by using their "accomplishments" as their calling card. They boasted about all they have done and used this, not only to build themselves up, but also to discredited the apostle Paul. In response, Paul "lowers" himself and acts like "a fool" to show the folly of judging people by human methods, as well as to reprimand the people for accepting these false prophets according such standards.

Our egos are fragile things and we attempt to strengthen them with boasting. Yet, boasting is self defeating, for our egos can only find true fulfillment in Christ. All boasting is foolishness. It is a sign that we are yet of the world. John in his first epistle (2:16) tells us that all such boasting "comes not from the Father but from the world." We must be crucified to this world and having been crucified to the world the listings of our accomplishments mean nothing to us. Jesus is everything!

"Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord!" (Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17) Let us hear this directive anew. Let us keep it fresh in our minds, lest we fall prey to the insidious peril of boasting. We are not of this world. Therefore, "may we never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus, through which the world has been crucified to us, and we to the world." (Galatians 6:14; plural pronouns added)

Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry


A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene. These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety without permission for nonprofit purposes only. Responses welcome. To Subscribe Click Here.
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