Today’s readings are Isaiah 17-19, Psalm 62, and 1 Corinthians 1.
From a very young age we seem to all have a need for attention. We want to be noticed. You might even call it human nature. Just this past holiday weekend I heard my young kids say in the pool many times, “Dad..look at me!” Is wanting to be noticed, seen, or heard wrong or a sin? I would probably say it is not, but there is a very fine line. We live in a world today where it is very easy to cross that line. We constantly post pictures of our latest vacations, sports games and concerts we are attending, dinner at fancy restaurants, ours or our kids’ achievements, and we can’t forget that selfie’s seem to be the norm these days. Yes…we have to admit that our “look at me” world has become a little excessive. And I’m not just pointing fingers at others.
Merriam-Webster defines boast as “to praise oneself extravagantly with speech: speak of oneself with pride.”
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:31, “so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Paul leads by example in this chapter starting in verse 1 where he gives credit to God saying he’s called by God’s will to be an apostle of Jesus. In verse 4 he gives thanks to God and in verse 9 he again gives credit to God saying it was God’s faithfulness that they were called into fellowship with Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 1:26-30, Paul discusses how many whom he is writing to were not wise or noble by worldly standards. He says God chose what is weak, despised, and low in the world to shame the strong so that He would get the glory, and they could only boast in Him.
Some of us may have come from really tough and humble backgrounds that is easier to realize we would not have gotten to where we are today without Him. Some of us may have been more fortunate in our background that it is easier to take what we have for granted or even if we came from a tough background we could say we worked hard and made it for ourselves. That is the “American Way” right?
But, we must all realize we were born into this world naked with nothing (so whatever we have/had has come from Him), and we all will die and leave this world taking nothing with us. And we are all dead in our sin without His saving grace which gives us who are believers eternal life found only in Him.
So, the next time we talk to others about what is going well in our lives, or we post that picture on Facebook or Instagram, let us remember to give Him the glory and praise He deserves knowing that we should only boast in Him (1 Corinthians 1:31).
