Love Does Not Boast

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

LOVE DOES NOT BOAST

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

Alright, now we get to this boasting and the fact that love does not boast. The Greek word does give us some insight, but not much, other than to mean to vault oneself, or to be a braggart, which is boasting. When we think about it, most people like to talk about themselves and it can turn into boasting very easily. This would look like someone who is always telling of their accomplishments, or what they have been doing, or where they are going, or have been. Boasting can even be about ministry, as to how much of whatever we do for the Lord. There is room to be a witness for what the Lord has done or is doing in our lives, without boasting about ourselves. We have to make sure we always give all the credit to the Lord for all things concerning our life. He is the potter and we are the clay, so then it is up to Him as to who we are, in the sense of the type of vessel, and what we are doing, as to how the vessel is used, and what gifts we have or the Spirit manifests in us, as in how he fills us. When we start thinking it is about our talent, our education, our abilities, it can turn into being boastful even if we do not voice it out loud. We can get this boastful attitude within ourselves, but then the scripture says that as a man thinks, so is he. So then, even if all our boasting is internal, what we think of ourselves, then we are still in danger, for we should not think more highly of ourselves than we should. However, this internal attitude does eventually show up externally. This just cannot be helped, as we want to be seen as important, useful, and needed. However, if we love, then we would not even think like that. We would want to build up others, not tear them down by making ourselves so special. It would seem this takes effort not to boast, yet if we are living for Christ, and the Spirit is dwelling and influencing our lives, then it should be effortless, as boasting would not come naturally to us, but rather love would, and we know that love does not boast.