let the one who boasts
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 9:23-24
“So what do you do? Are you working right now?”
Every time I hear this question, it triggers a little anxiety. Since deciding to step away from my work as a nurse to stay at home with my kids, it’s taken me a while to be fully at home in my response to this question. I would find myself telling people what I did before motherhood, or that I’m also trying to do this personal side project with writing and lettering. Something to prove to others that I’m worth knowing and have something interesting to show for my life.
And although having an impressive career and an interesting bio can certainly be good things, even healthy things, I know that my own insecurity and motivations are rooted in a false and dangerous belief that my worth as a person is in what I do. And I will never find true contentment, joy, and settled-ness in the season I’m in if I do not learn these truths found in Jeremiah 9.
At the bottom of it all, I think we all have this desire to have something to boast in. To boast in something is to have it be the cause of your pride. In this passage, the Lord cautions against the wise man boasting in his wisdom, or the mighty man boasting in his might, or the rich man boasting in his riches. (Even two thousand years after this was written, I think the human race hasn’t changed all too much in what it boasts in!)
Whether it’s an impressive career, or being the knowledgeable one with all the resources, or even in how well-behaved or awesome our kids are, it feels good to be able to find our security in something that we feel like we can take credit for.
But God instructs us to boast in something very different from what the world does. Instead, He says that the one who boasts should boast in the fact that he knows and understands God. The most Supreme, holy, transcendent, perfect Being in the universe. The God of steadfast love, justice and righteousness.
We boast in something that we could never take credit for, because even our knowing and understanding God isn’t something we achieved on our own, but is a pure act of God’s grace and initiative. What makes us special is that God decided to make Himself personally known to us because of His own lavish goodness and not our own.
Whenever we meet someone new, and in all of the relationships that we have in our lives, we have the opportunity to show them the freedom and life and peace that comes from knowing Christ, even if its just a few minutes of conversation. It has never been about us and whatever image of ourselves we are trying to portray. It’s about showing through our lives and our words that knowing God has changed everything for us, and that it can for them, too.
So let us turn away from boasting in anything outside of God. Let us stop wasting our lives feeling like unimpressive and unfulfilled imposters because we are looking to the wrong things for our sense of worth. Let us give up the rat race of chasing after a fleeting sense of our self-importance. God in His grace has made Himself known to you, has chosen you, has saved you, and has created you to reflect Him to the world in a way only you can. May He be our boast, all the days of our lives.
