“In God we boast all day long, and praise Your Name forever.” – Psalm 44:8

Every one of us is prone to boasting. I also sometimes catch myself in a boastful show-off once in a while. It is a human weakness, apparently.

The Hebrew word for ‘boast’ means ‘to evidence oneself as great.’

To ‘be praised’ means ‘to be boasted about joyfully.’

Indeed, the word for ‘boastful’is the same word used to describe the praise of God. So, to “evidence oneself as great” —to boast—is a twisted human perversion of the spiritual praise of God.

The Greek word for ‘boast’ is also sometimes translated as ‘glory.’

It literally means ‘to lift up the neck’ like a braggart in a provocative manner. In that sense, it is described as ‘vain-glorying.’

Against that background, it is easy to see why God detests human boasting.

 “As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4:16)

Similarly, Isaiah rebuked the king of Assyria for his arrogance in claiming to have been successful in his conquests, yet he was a mere tool in the hands of God.

“Does the axe raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it?” (Isa. 10:15, NIV).

In our meditation today, David, who undoubtedly had a thousand reasons to boast, had a completely different attitude.

He directed all the praise and all the glory to God, where it rightly belonged.

“In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise Your name forever,” he prayed.

It’s God’s Name that deserves all the praise.

The prophet said; “This is what the LORD says; ‘Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.”

The only thing that is worth boasting about is having a vital relationship with God.

“For who makes you different from anyone else?

What do you have that you did not receive?

And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

1 Cor. 4:7

Romans 5:11 says; “Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

That’s why Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 1: 28 – 29 that God chose the “lowly things of this world and the despised things” in order to ensure that no one may boast before Him!

Indeed, a full self-examination of your life would show that there’s virtually nothing to boast about.

You can’t boast about your tribe or race or looks because you didn’t play a part in being born that way.

Not even about your good health, education, wealth or social status; you didn’t deserve them more than anyone else.

“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Cor. 4:7, NIV).

Like the proverbial donkey that only got to walk on people’s clothes when Jesus was seated on it, we also can only do things we do or have the things we have because of God.

“For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Prayer:

My soul shall always make its boast in You LORD. Without You I am nothing. It’s because of You that I am what I am. May Your Name alone be praised forever and ever, Amen!