“...it does not boast, it is not proud.” -1 Corinthians 13:4
There is no boasting in the Christian life. We know that anything and everything we possess from our material positions to our abilities came from the hands of a loving God. How can we boast about something that was really never ours but lent to us by God?
True love starts with the author of love—God Himself. Out of His love He blesses us with gifts. Only when we see our possessions and our talents as gifts from God are we able to love properly.
First, we recognize that what we have doesn’t belong to just us. As we learned in the last chapter of 1 Corinthians, God gives us things to be a blessing to the community. Seeing our talents and possessions as God’s talents and possessions helps us to have a communal perspective on our gifts.
Second, it helps us in practicing humility. If you’re athletic, it’s because God blessed you with that. If you’re smart, it’s because God blessed you with that. If you have a lot of material possessions or wealth, it’s because God blessed you with that. When you begin to recognize that everything you have is from God, it eliminates pride. You begin to realize that you’re not the source of your own glory, God is. If God is the source of everything great about you, there’s no boasting about yourself since it’s all God.
Do you struggle with humility? How do you see your abilities, talents and possessions? Do you see them as gifts from God?
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