17 But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. 18 For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.
There is probably much more to get out of this chapter but I wasn't getting hit with much. Humility is the theme I take out of this one. Don't be bragging about your accomplishments. First of they are worldly and they are temporary. Secondly, even the skills you have to enable them came not from you but from God so be thankful not boastful. Third, God is judging our hearts he's not impressed by our earthly metrics.
knut
my thoughts are a little mixed up on this one, but I'll try to articulate what I'm thinking. You are completely right in the fact that we shouldn't boast. Mostly because the good we would be bragging about doesn't come from us anyway. But, we do need to be confident. I think confidence goes a LONG way in attracting others to us and to what we are doing. Confidence in humility is really what I'm thinking of. That's what Paul is dancing around here. He is being authoritative in his letters and with his visits....and trying not to cross the line into boasting. Its a really fine line to walk.
ReplyDeleteConfidence that God is taking care of everything, and his message is coming through Paul. Humility to realize that message doesn't come from himself.
That's a tough balance to strike in my day to day life. I would say I fail at it, on both sides....sometimes on the same day!
good one!
deep thoughts by tp. good work
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