Legitimate Boasting

Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.... (Romans 15:17-18)

Trying to think about boasting is almost a difficult assignment the more I think about it. I suppose some might say that this is because I think I don't have this problem and then accuse me of being a hypocrite. I don't know if that is true or not. But since I have spent very little time in my whole life actually studying the subject of boasting, it is not yet something that is rich with meaning and insights for me.

But the more I look at these verses the more curious I am becoming about this strange creature called boasting. I would like to understand better what is going on in the mind that produces this activity and why people come to engage in it. What does it do for a person? What are the underlying reasons that would lead a person to boast?

Just like every other good thing or activity that God designed for us to enjoy and cause our heart to thrive, Satan always has a counterfeit that is very similar but deceptive in nature. That is just the way life is under the influence of sin in this world. But what comes as a surprise to me is that there is something in God's plan for me that has been counterfeited by Satan in the activity of boasting that we commonly find disgusting in others. Most people do not enjoy hearing someone else produce a litany of their personal accomplishments to promote themselves as better than those around them. But what is the genuine thing of which this is a counterfeit?

I'm not sure of the answers to all of this yet. But that is why I am starting to write about it for I often find that as I write and ponder and explore the various dimensions of an idea that more and more of it begins to become clear to me in the process. I ask the Holy Spirit to guide me in this process of exploration and trust Him to steer me in the right direction and to discover important truths that will be heart-changing and transformative for my own life.

Counterfeit boasting, the kind with which we are most familiar, seems to always be associated very closely with pride. I cannot think of a single instance where the two would not be found together. Pride itself is an extremely elusive and slippery thing that tends to infiltrate every part of our thinking. There are jokes going around that in fact actually contain serious truth, about people who are proud of their humility. This is funny because it is an oxymoron. But humility itself is something that is very little understood by most people and so it is no surprise that pride can affect so much of our thinking.

But since humility is such an extremely important character trait in the life of heaven, and humility is the opposite of pride in the heart, how does that affect this issue of boasting? Is there such a thing as boasting from a true position of humility? Or does that too feed into the humor of the “pride in humility” jokes? I don't think so, though that could possibly be easy to do. Somehow I believe that there really is a true and legitimate activity that is little understood that happens to have the same name as its counterfeit in this instance. That, of course, makes it even more difficult to discuss since there is so much false baggage associated with the word to start with.

But what I see in this verse gives me some very important clues about the nature and attitude from which true boasting can safely be exercised, maybe even encouraged. Paul says that the position from which he is boasting is in Christ Jesus. That alerts me to a number of other very important studies I have enjoyed about what it means to be in Christ which really goes to the core of what it means to be a genuine Christian. This too is a little understood concept so it is no wonder that legitimate boasting is likewise nearly obscure and is not talked about much among professed Christians. Because most boasting is along the line of the counterfeit version it becomes difficult to find examples to examine of the true kind of boasting of which Paul is speaking here.

As I listened to a sermon recently I heard another text from right here in Romans that talks about boasting.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. (Romans 11:17-18 NRSV)

When this verse says if you do boast, I am not sure that it is saying it in a negative way. Since Paul himself at times openly boasted, howbeit very carefully and always from his perspective of being in Christ, then it would only follow that he would not condemn others who might follow his example. But a couple verses later he gives a caveat that must be included.

That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. (Romans 11:20 NRSV)

As I look at more of these verses in reference to boasting I am starting to see a pattern developing here. There are important clues that tell me what good boasting could look like. Let me pull some of them together that I have seen so far.

• Good boasting can happen when I am living in a proper relationship with Jesus, what the Bible calls in Him.

• Good boasting will be about things pertaining to God.

• Healthy boasting can be about what Christ has accomplished through me.

• Correct boasting will not be about me being better than others who are connected to Jesus.

• Healthy boasting will always have the understanding, will be rooted in the fact that Jesus is my sole source of everything good that I have to boast about.

• Good boasting will not lead me into pride.

• Godly boasting will include a sense of awe for God and His amazing ability to use me in His work to help and bless others.

These are all things taken just from the verses that I have looked at so far here. Now I am starting to think I want to take some time to explore other places that refer to boasting to see what else I might find. I suspect maybe God is trying to reveal something to me, something that may be more important than what I currently realize.

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