Reason to Boast

I have to say, I've seen a lot more signs of faith among NFL players than among UCI cyclists. On Sunday I was watching the prologue time trial of the Paris - Nice Classic and noticed that several of the cyclists made the sign of the cross (one of them seven times!) before leaving the start house. Of course, there is no way of knowing whether this is simply superstition or whether it represents actual faith and trust in Jesus.

In the NFL demonstrations of faith are commonplace, and following games there is always a circle of players from both teams who get down on their knees to pray together. And of course, it is not at all uncommon for players to thank God or give the glory to Jesus in post-game interviews. I'm sure much of this is due to the influence of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. They have cultivated an attitude among players that reflects Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 10:17-18: "'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.' For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."

Everyone of us has a natural human tendency to want to blow our own horn. When we achieve something that we believe to be significant, we want to tell others. I see this in myself. When I get home from a ride that was especially fast (for me) I want to tell my wife what my average speed was. Of course, if I were to measure that speed against riders in the Tour de France, it would be laughable. Paul says in vs. 12: "When they measure themselve by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." Yes, if we want to commend ourselves this is what we must do most of the time, because the reality is that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) If we compare ourselves to God's standard, there's not much to commend. Only if we compare ourselves to ourselves to we have anything to brag about.

How much better to faithfully seek to do God's will and bring him glory, without commending ourselves. In doing so, we will be seeking God's commendation, not our own. And rather than commending ourselves, how much more should we commend God to others. We should always be looking for reasons to praise and glorify God to the people around us. And of course, there is always more than enough reason to do so. We just need to be thinking along those lines so that we take note of God's grace and mercy in our lives or the lives of others and give him the praise he deserves. Then our boasting will be in the Lord, and will be pleasing to him.