BIBLE READING FOR THE DAY:
This is what the Lord says:
"Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the Lord.
-- Jeremiah 9:23-24
THOUGHT: You know how in elementary school no one liked the kid who was a 'show-off'? And then everyone started getting older and the trick became how to show off without seeming to be showing off... maybe you can relate. Maybe you've been the show-off before. Maybe you've been the kid who's a bit jealous, or at least who just really doesn't like the show-off kid. Maybe at a young age you had already mastered the trick of showing off without seeming to be. Maybe you've shown off before by exaggerating things you're doing-- or narrating them in a special way, or maybe you've shown off completely unaware that you were doing so. Maybe you've denied you're showing off at all. I have a hunch that we've all played each part before at some time. Boasting is tricky.
It's especially tricky because it can give us certain power in various interactions. It can change our relationships. It can determine how we measure and value ourselves and others. If we're proud of our grades, or our weight, or our belongings, or what great and wise things we have to say in each conversation, how will we value other people with worse grades, worse fitness, less cool stuff? If we reassure ourselves of our value because we have strengths like intelligence and talent, how will we value people without those gifts? If we are so convinced that we have things of 'wisdom' to offer the people around us, when will we give them a chance to offer their own wisdom to us?
The reality is that boasting has no place in a life following this God-- it is useless, as demonstrated by the irony of the passage. Why should the wise boast of their wisdom? Wisdom is gotten by listening much and talking little, and when a wise man opens his mouth, wisdom should come out, not boasting. And why should the strong boast of their strength-- wouldn't it demonstrate itself through action, naturally? And the rich who do not spend their money for some use but only talk about it in boasting-- shouldn't money be a tool we use
CHALLENGE: I think that this passage is really God's instructions on how to be pure-hearted and humble, and in doing so, to love each other more deeply and justly. Jeremiah says that the Hebrew God suggests that people leave behind their boasting of wisdom, strength and riches-- those things that we use to measure up and (de)value each other. Instead, he says that the only thing worth boasting about (to oneself and others)-- the best thing in the world both to have and to know-- is God himself. And knowing God is immeasurable. And being a part of kindness, justice, and righteousness, being a delight to God, is something we cannot look down on others for and still participate in.
Today, when you are tempted to put yourself in a better light than is true, ask God to help you keep a pure heart, and instead, choose to let your actions speak louder than your words. Let your wisdom be wisdom, your weaknesses be weaknesses, your strengths be strengths, etc. Choose in your interactions today to avoid boasting (both in your thoughts and words) and instead, express kindness through action. As you're doing so, ask God to help you experience his delight in your desire to have a more pure and humble heart.
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