Boastful Grace
Confession is medicine for the soul. It is the humbling of one’s self before God and others, in revealing secret sins. Confession is the dismantling of the false persona of success and the pretense of self-attained righteousness. Confession is the coming out of darkness into the light; where our weakness is exposed to all. We all begin our walk with God in this way, by confessing that we are sinners and that Jesus is Lord. In humility we approach His throne of grace and receive forgiveness for our sins. This results in a changed life, by means of the Lord’s grace working in us. It is through humility that one accesses this grace, (James 4.6).
What seemed easy to do at the beginning, has become harder to do as the years go by. Those that have been a believer for many years, find it hard to ask for prayer. They seldom go forward when there is an altar call; hiding their fears and failures while pretending at happiness, fulfillment and victory. Among their Christian friends their talk is about how successful they are in their ministries, how good their marriage is and the successes of their children. They tend to brag about who they know and all they have sacrificed in working for the Lord. An image of being “spiritual” has been erected at the cost of transparency and any sign of weakness could tear it down. Thus, the fear of their weaknesses being exposed, causes them to be distant and superficial in their relationships. All this is pride.
Charles Spurgeon has said: “Beware of boasting, for your virtue will yet be tried; Satan will direct his engines against that very virtue for which you are the most famous.” Shortly after Peter was praised for receiving a great revelation from God, he had to be rebuked for speaking on behalf of Satan. Later, he boastfully claimed loyalty to the death and hours later denied the Lord three times. David said: “I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved”, and then succumbed to the lust of the eyes and fell into adultery. (Psalms 30.6) Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Therefore let anyone who thinks he stand take heed lest he fall.” (I Cor. 10.12) Pride precedes a fall.
The reason why pride is possible for believers is that the standard for success is set too low. We have made success doable. The standard that has been set is just a little more than the others we observe around us. Paul set out to boast about being a Hebrew of Hebrews, about being more zealous than other laborers for Christ, about his suffering persecution and enduring natural disasters. Yet, in doing so he said: “I am talking like a fool”, “I say not with the Lord’s authority, but as a fool”, and, “I speak as a fool”. (II Cor. 11.16-27) Paul does not stop with this “foolish” boasting, but continues on to reveal his weakness and his trust in the grace of God. His boasting was clothed in humility as he gloried in his weakness, so that the grace and power of God would rest on him. When the standard we set is too low, pride sets in. The true standard for success is Jesus.
Pride is sin and must not be taken lightly. God resists the prideful. It is not a little thing. It is like the little drops of water that can put a hole in a stone or the little foxes that can spoil the vineyard. One can resist this temptation of pride by frequent confession of your weaknesses and sin. If you feel inclined to boast, boast in your weaknesses and in the grace of God.
Scriptures to meditate on:
I Cor. 10.12-13; I Tim. 3.6; Mat. 6.1-2; James 4.6; I John 1.9; Prov. 16.18; Song of Sol. 2.15