The Object of Your Boasting

“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 10:17)

It is right and appropriate for Christians to boast. Sometimes this looks like ‘boasting’ in the way that we often think of boasting – “I’m so proud of…” More often, we ‘boast’ when we are consumed by an idea and can’t stop talking about it to others.

Some Christians aren’t boasting, because their passion is flagging. They are beaten down, worn out, wearied. Other Christians aren’t boasting because they are distracted, choked by the thorns, the ‘cares of this world.’ They instead boast in some new role at work, a purchase they are saving for, or some pet hobby.

I’ve noticed that new Christians, as well as healthy and mature Christians, love to boast in the same biblical themes that Scripture emphasizes. They love to talk about the cross, justification, and the great exchange. The power of grace, the sovereignty of God, and the importance of worldwide missions are also often near their heart and dear to them.

If these are the topics that we ought to be boasting in (and I think we should, because the Bible spends so much time emphasizing them), it’s interesting to observe what improper boasting looks like.

Some Christians boast in secondary topics. It isn’t that they are wrong, but their excessive passion may be misplaced. Whether it is theories of eschatology, heresy-hunting, or a pet theological concept, these Christians are not necessarily wrong, but their passion and ‘boasting’ do not seem to align with the key topics that the Biblical writers ‘boasted in.’

Even more dangerous is when individuals begin to boast in topics that are extrabiblical or wrong. I’ve observed this when interacting with new converts to Roman Catholicism. Such individuals are passionate about the church fathers, the importance of tradition, and the role of Mary. They ‘boast’ about these things by talking continually about them. But in this way they are demonstrating how far they are from the Word of God. Not only does the Bible not place great emphasis on them, but it even presents a different view of these things.

So, what are you ‘boasting’ in? Is it the cross, the undeserved grace of God, the incarnation? Or do lesser subjects motivate you more?

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