Do not Boast

Proverbs 27:1-2

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.  Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”

As a child I often heard my parents and their friends make this statement, “we will see you next week at the same time if it is the Lord’s will.”  As a child that saying captivated me, for my parents would say it is our plan, but God has a way of changing our plans.  I believe James made that very clear in James 4:13-17, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

I often wonder why I‘m such a slow learner, has not our Creator spoken on this subject of tomorrow?  Look with me in Matthew 6:33-34, ^“ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  You may want to begin in verse 25 and read through 34; it will encourage your heart.

Are you not sick of political leaders of the USA using the word “I” as if they did something?  Taking credit, bragging, or boasting about things they never had anything to do with.  I will never forget our past President of eight years taking credit for the Navy Seals killing of Bin Laden as if he was part of that team.  President Obama in one of his reason talks used the “I” word over 100 times.  It is hard to say something good about someone who is so full of self, that he has no understanding of why as a nation we are sick of this kind of a person.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice