Posted on 04/11/2015 6:28:13 AM PDT by metmom
WE ALL know how painful it is to be forced to listen to a confirmed boaster sound off on his favorite topic - himself. To be the captive of such a man even for a short time tries our patience to the utmost and puts a heavy strain upon our Christian charity.
Boasting is particularly offensive when it is heard among the children of God, the one place above all others where it should never be found. Yet it is quite common among Christians, though disguised somewhat by the use of the stock expression, "I say this to the glory of God."
Some boasters appear to feel a bit self-conscious, and apologize meekly for their outbursts of self-praise. Others have accepted themselves as being all their doting relatives and friends claim they are, and habitually speak of themselves in reverent terms, as if their superiority was a matter of common knowledge too well established to require proof. Such a one was the concert singer who replied to a glowing compliment after a performance, "Well, what did you expect?"
God is very patient with His children and often tolerates in them carnal traits so gross as to shock their fellow Christians. But that is only for a while. As more light comes to our hearts, and especially as we go on to new and advanced spiritual experiences, God begins to impose disciplines upon us to purge us from the same faults He tolerated before. Then He permits us to say and do things that react unfavorably against us and expose our vanity for what it is. It may then happen in the providential will of God that the very gift we have boasted of may be lost to us or the project we are so proud of will fail. After we have learned our lesson the Lord may restore what He has taken away, for He is more concerned with our souls than with our service. But sometimes our boasting permanently hurts us and excludes us from blessings we might have enjoyed.
Another habit not quite so odious is belittling ourselves. This might seem to be the exact opposite of boasting, but actually it is the same old sin traveling under a nom de plume. It is simply egoism trying to act spiritual. It is impatient Saul hastily offering an unacceptable sacrifice to the Lord.
Self-derogation is bad for the reason that self must be there to derogate. Self, whether swaggering or groveling, can never be anything but hateful to God.
Boasting is an evidence that we are pleased with self; belittling, that we are disappointed in it. Either way we reveal that we have a high opinion of ourselves. The belittler is chagrined that one as obviously superior as he should not have done better, and he punishes himself by making uncomplimentary remarks about himself. That he does not really mean what he says may be proved quite easily. Let someone else say the same things. His eager defense of himself will reveal how he feels and has secretly felt all the time.
The victorious Christian neither exalts nor downgrades himself. His interests have shifted from self to Christ. What he is or is not no longer concerns him. He believes that he has been crucified with Christ and he is not willing either to praise or deprecate such a man.
Yet the knowledge that he has been crucified is only half the victory. "Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Christ is now where the man's ego was formerly. The man is now Christ-centered instead of self-centered, and he forgets himself in his delighted preoccupation with Christ.
Candor compels me to acknowledge that it is a lot easier to write about this than it is to live it. Self is one of the toughest plants that grows in the garden of life. It is, in fact, indestructible by any human means. Just when we are sure it is dead it turns up somewhere as robust as ever to trouble our peace and poison the fruit of our lives.
Yet there is deliverance. When our judicial crucifixion becomes actual the victory is near; and when our faith rises to claim the risen life of Christ as our own the triumph is complete. The trouble is that we do not receive the benefits of all this until something radical has happened in our own experience, something which in its psychological effects approaches actual crucifixion. What Christ went through we also must go through. Rejection, surrender, loss, a violent detachment from the world, the pain of social ostracism - all must be felt in our actual experience.
Where we have failed is in the practical application of the teaching concerning the crucified life. Too many have been content to be armchair Christians, satisfied with the theology of the cross. Plainly Christ never intended that we should rest in a mere theory of self-denial. His teaching identified His disciples with Himself so intimately that they would have had to be extremely dull not to have understood that they were expected to experience very much the same pain and loss as He Himself did.
The healthy soul is the victorious soul and victory never comes while self is permitted to remain unjudged and uncrucified. While we boast or belittle we may be perfectly sure that the cross has not yet done its work within us. Faith and obedience will bring the cross into the life and cure both habits.
Tozer ping
No Christian will have perfectly good conduct while still in this world.
It’s correct to note that self derogation is a sign that fleshliness has popped up. But it may be better than flaunting the fleshliness, a step away from the latter on the way to better sanity. C. S. Lewis was good at pointing this kind of thing out. Absolutism (which reflects denial of biblical teaching) is not realistic to any Christian walk this side of glory. Continual improvement is.
Thanks for the post
I agree.
While I really appreciate Tozer, sometimes I think he sets the bar a little higher than is realistic. Early on in my Christian walk when I read him, I found him very discouraging for that reason.
I don’t think that we need to be near as perfect as all that for God to use us and bless us with Himself. As long as the intent of the heart is there, He can work with us and since we’re never going to be “good enough” on this side of eternity, I believe that God is pleased enough with a compliant heart more than perfect behavior.
A compliant heart will at least be one that God can work with and that’s what He wants from us.
Precisely why I do not listen to ANYTHING odumbo has to say.
I despise that petulant bastard way beyond any words can convey.
And we will grow. There is a distinct passage between point of salvation and the perfection of heaven. The mustard shrub must grow.
Kind of odd he talks about belittling because there is such a thing as belittling by perfectionist implication as well. Flesh/sinful self is not so easily dodged because it never becomes extinct in this world. That is why grace is such an essential thing. I am embarrassed by God’s grace. He forgives things I’d never forgive myself for, and ultimately I accept it, but not without a proud struggle first.
Hypotheticals are fine enough but impractical for the real world.
I sure would love to live in a world like that, but I don’t and while I know that positionally, I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ and all that I have in Him, in the real world the flesh that is crucified still gives me trouble and struggles.
And God is pleased with our progress as He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust.
I guess you can at least say Barack is sincere about his self praise. One could hope and pray that he would find God and be anywhere close to as sincere about Him.
Yes. He deals in mercy and grace, something that the devil can’t do.
The devil’s game has been to accuse since in the garden the serpent told Adam and Eve that they were naked (at least by implication the serpent appears to have done so). God’s game is to say “although you have been bad, I will make you good.” We get to choose.
The challenge for us is to respond to the mercy and grace in the face of other obstacles. Our race is an obstacle course. We might not even know early on that we are progressing, but we still are. And the genius of God is that He causes all these things, even our own badness, to work together for our own good, which in turn is so He can love us fully and bestow pure glory upon us.
He pushes me right over the edge.....
I think the boasting of the boaster is the extreme case of the desperation of the devil. The devil says there is no hope at being good, so might as well swagger around being bad, at least it feels wonderful.
I used to boast
but now I’m perfect.
LOL
Years ago I went to a company party with my husband. I just wanted to go home and read. I got so tired of listening to the women brag about what their clothes, purse, etc cost. Years later I was reminded of that when my granddaughter went to a party. Afterwards, the guests could get any food left over. She was getting strawberries/chocolate. A woman came up to find out why, since she had on expensive looking clothes, she was getting that food. My gd set her straight. She looked that nosy person in the eye and informed her that all the clothes and shoes cost a grand total of $65. I was so proud of her!
It’s interesting because I’m convinced that most class comes from within.
It is like comparing Laura Bush and Michelle. One has class and the other pretends to.
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