Bragging Rights

Michelle met someone recently who went on and on about themself, spewing their ministry resume and everything great they had done in their life.  She was taken a back and didn't know how to respond.  Michelle is so humble and authentic.  She couldn't believe this Christian would be so self absorbed.

Have you ever met someone like this?  They may even have warrant for their bragging.  Maybe they've done some great things, but it just sounds so vain when they share about themselves.

The wisest man of his time, King Solomon, says in Proverbs 27:2 - "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth."

The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:6 - "I don't want anyone to think more highly of me than what they can actually see in my life and my message."

My brother Jon told me recently that he frequently talks with other youth pastors that ask him how his youth ministry is doing numerically.  They just had a large outreach with 1,300 students (and 460 decisions for Christ!), and typically run 300-400 on a weekly basis.  In my estimation, they are very successful in what they do.  However, because he feels that it can be a lose-lose situation discussing numbers, he avoids going there.  For instance, if he allows himself to boast, others may feel discouraged that their group isn't as big, or they may feel prideful that their group is larger.  So his typical response at the time was something like, "I think there was at least 5 kids here last week."  Others of course knew he was politely and humbly refusing to base his view of youth ministry success on numbers.

King Solomon and the Apostle Paul had more reasons than nearly anyone in the world today to brag about their accomplishments.  However, they both knew the importance of humility and holding our praise of ourselves.  We don't need to lift ourselves up.  Let's let God do that.  Instead, let's "administer justice on the earth, love mercy and walk humbly with our God" (Micah 6:8).