Better Than the Next Person

I sometimes hate watching boasting athletes, especially those that really aren’t that good, trying to lift themselves up as if the world couldn’t live without them. A trend that I see is, that if the player isn’t able to be superior based on skill, they will resort to deception. There has been such a rise of athletes faking being fouled; first in soccer, then in basketball, and now it is infiltrating football too. We have lost the self-respect of earning our victories and now have moved to winning no matter what. People want to boast, but not always in what is worth boasting about. I think there is a part of every person that boast a little. Oh, it doesn’t have to be really cruel. It might just be a little comment that indicates how well we did, sadly at the expense of putting someone else down. When we sit around the table to visit, somehow stories are told about what we did. Especially in guy circles, there gets to be a competition for who is the best. Even pastors can be guilty of this. When visiting with other pastors, somehow the conversation seems to get to how big is the congregation and what amazing things is the church doing. I rarely hear pastors talking about how God has transformed them and their church or the individual that has been transformed. If there are no stories of spiritual growth, that may indicate a church that is focused in the wrong place. We read in Galatians 6, “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.” I must see others through the eyes of Christ. I cannot save anyone from hell. I can only point them to what Jesus did for them on the cross. In Christ we are equal. God can take the worst person on death row or most respected person in the church and transform them, if they are willing. What counts is not what I have done or who I think I am, but rather that I have been made into a new creation. I cannot be a new creation unless I first surrender to God and receive his grace and mercy. The next time you’re tempted to lift yourself up, ask these questions - “Have I been faithful in lifting up Christ?” or “Who do I lift up most... myself or God?” Or “Do I walk in my sinful nature, or have I been made into a new creation?” Lord, help me to never boast except in what You have done for me on the cross. Put Your word in my heart that I might declare You. Amen