To Boast or Envy

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

TO BOAST OR ENVY

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

Love does not envy, nor does it boast. These two aspects of the characteristics of love are sort of hand and glove. On the one hand, envy is to be heated to a boil, meaning to desire something, pursuing after it, and burning with lust for it, which is usually what someone else has, or their position in life. On the other hand, boasting is vaulting oneself, being prideful in what one has or in their possessions or position in life. In some sense the boaster might be responsible for the envier. “look what I have”, Look what I have done, or am doing”, “See how important I am”. Then the other person might think, “Awe gee, I wish I had that” Darn, why couldn’t I do that”, “Why is someone else always getting all the credit?” “Why do they always have to rub it in my face?” Now, if we are going to boast about anything, we should be boasting about the Lord, and this should be about the Lord and not so much about what the Lord has done for us. If we do boast about what God has done for us, it could be misconstrued as boasting about oneself, although it would be good to make sure the blessing of the Lord upon us is accompanied by our unworthiness, so as to not boast about how much faith we have and that is the reason God has given us so much. It seems the one who boasts, usually boasts about themselves and not about the Lord which can include how much they have, knows about scripture, or their ministry, or good deeds. However, from the other perspective, the one who envies can do so without a word of boasting from another. We can sit and stew in our envy, in our lust for, burning to a boil over what someone else has or does. We can just envy in silence without anyone knowing, while it is impossible to be silent while boasting. However, if we love others, we will never give our voice to boasting or sit and burn with envy. Each of us has a part in the body of Christ, and each of us should be thankful to God for the place he has us in and his provisions in our lives. Without God we are nothing, and without love we are but a clanging noise with no meaning, and we do not resonate with the voice or love of God. Let us forever be grateful to a most generous God who bestows his blessings on each one of us, perhaps in different forms, but nevertheless, it is all about God and nothing about us, other than the fact that we have the right to be called the children of God. Let us not envy nor boast, for that would not be consistent with our Father’s love for us.