Boasting

 DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BOASTING

2 Cor 10:12-18

12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory. 17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."   18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

NIV

How in the world could we ever compare ourselves to ourselves? It would seem that we would have to commend ourselves, that is boast about our own works. This word commends in Greek carries the meaning of introducing ourselves, which is saying that we introduce how great we are, what degrees we have, how much we have done, all the service we have done for Jesus. It is one thing to boast about the field we are in, that is the calling that we have been given for that is all from the Lord. He calls each of us to the field, giving us the ability to serve where he has put us. It is like that old song, break me, melt me, form me, and fill me. Jesus made the point that we can do nothing without him. That he is the vine, and we are the branches, and he is the one who produces the fruit within us. So then how can we compare ourselves to ourselves? If we did, we have nothing to compare ourselves with because then we would be apart from Jesus, and we would be nothing. So then, we would be comparing nothing to nothing, and that surely is nothing to boast about. All we can boast about is Jesus. He has done everything for us and in us and is continuing to do his work through us. What is also interesting is that we should not even be interested in getting the commendation of men, especially ourselves, but we should only be interested in getting the approval of God. That sounds good in theory, but if we have the call to preach, in most, if not all, denominations, we must get the approval of men. That is the way of the church today and we need men’s approval to be certified or for them to verify that we meet their qualifications. So, in some sense they are comparing ourselves to themselves, using their standards, which are mostly the Lord’s standards. Nevertheless, that is how it works, and so be it, but the fact remains that we should not boast about ourselves, other than to boast about the Lord, and what he has done for us, in us, and through us. The Lord must always get all the praise for all things. So, it is alright to boast, if we are boasting about the Lord.