Pride and Boasting: The Promotion of Vanity

This topic might throw some people off balance. This is something that destroys lives of people due to this sin.

What is pride?

Pride is the act of elevating oneself or opinion. It is a feeling that you are better than others. 

Those that are proud can never reach the top. They lose helpers and people run away from them.

All proud people fall are great - Proverbs 16:18.

So brethren I tell you today that pride takes you nowhere, It results to shame - Proverbs 11:2

It brings them down - Proverbs 29:23

A proud heart is an abomination to the Lord - Proverbs 16:5

Pride is a sin - Proverbs 21:4

So I admonish you all today to be humble. God elevates the humble and brings down the proud. 

Humility takes you higher and pride brings you lower.

Be blessed.

He who has to say “I am King”, is no king at all. 

Any humility that is trying to showcase is not humility. Humility is not loud

 

There are many reasons why I choose to start this article with the above statements. Of all reasons, it boils down to the fact that boastful lifestyles used to be common to luxuriously wealthy and high influential individuals because of the believe that they own something worthy of a boast. Today, it's much more as even individuals who own far lesser also live boastful lifestyles (those who have little or nothing). 

Boasting means to praise oneself extravagantly especially in our speech and in our expensive use of words through bragging or excessive pride. I believe that all this excessive boastful lifestyle is all might be as a result of grades , heights, achievement, successes, feats and so many more.

Boasting is one of the fruits of the devil that the Bible discourages us from. In the words of Watchman Nee, "If you show off, do not get upset when God doesn't show up". There are so many limits to our success in life. Many times victims begin to blame their innocent parents, witches or wizards, friends and "village people" for standing as an obstacle against their success.

 

Sometimes, these are wrong accusations!!. How will you pray to God with a boastful heart and expect speedy answers?. Can a boastful man kneel before His to pray?. I don't think so!. He believes everything lies in the works of his hands not God. What audacity! What degree of rudeness are you portraying? What sort of effrontery are gallivanting around with?. Thank God for his ever infinite mercy.

A great and successful man is known, he needs no introduction. This says the Lord," Let not the mighty man glory in his might,nor let the rich man glory in his riches", But let him who glories(boast)glory(boast) in this, that he understands, he knows me that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgement and righteousness. This was a thought provoking and deliberate speech made by Paul the Apostle. If Paul can detest boasting which ultimately end in vanity, how much more will our heavenly Father who reigneth in heaven in his mighty and majestic throne detest boasting?

When scriptures talk about idle words, we think about profanity and vanity. Wasted years, wasted years , o how foolish, as you walk all in darkness and fear,  the Lord is calling you from the life of wasted years. Our boastful years is a wasteful years spent . Boasting is a sin ans it is very easy to commit, many times we don't even know when we boast . Whatever speech I make in life, in my time of self examination I begin to re- think of the advise I gave to  someone or speeches I have rendered to the public. "Did I handle the speech well?"," Did I advise them right, or "I just want to boast and simply prove them wrong?".

Boasting is the promotion of Vanity because at the end it yields nothing but regret. We see boasting most times in the church or better to say, in the gathering of the saints, you will see the so- called pastors , deacons, prophets and Apostles boasting about their large,luxurious and  endowed ministries and the countless numbers of saved souls. I will be listing out the three things we are absolutely encouraged and advised to boast as Christians. Here they are;

Boast in the Lord

"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 boast boast about this; that they have the understand to know me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on Earth, for these I delight" declares the Lord ( Jeremiah 9;23-24). While the people of the world are boasting about their physical prowess, achievement and Successes we are to ever delight and appreciate God who is never failing, ever gracious and always kind because there is no man like him on Earth.

BOAST IN YOUR WEAKNESS: Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take( the thorn in my flesh) away from me. But he said unto me," My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.".

" Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,so that Christ power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, In insults, in hardships, in persecution, In difficulties, in pains,in challenges. For when I am weak, I am strong".

Lastly BOAST IN THE  CROSS OF CHRIST." May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal 6;14). While others boast about their observance to rules and regulations and their services rendered to the Lord. Paul a strong disciple of Christ says he would rather boast in the cross of Christ. Can you boast of the cross of Christ?. The  religious boast about their religion ( those that ignorantly think they can saved through works). But those who are saved by Grace, however BOAST in the cross of Christ, which is the divine power of God to those who are being saved. At Bethlehem, he became God with us, at Pentecost he became God in us, at Calvary he became God for us. 

In the words of Bishop T.D Jakes, don’t confuse boldness with arrogance and pride

This should be your daily speech, I can't brag about my love for God because I fail him daily, but I can boast about his love for me because it never fails.