Our biggest desire is to receive God’s Blessing. But how can we hope to receive His Blessing? It is not enough that we have faith in Him, we must also have works to show for it. James 2:20-21 says, “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?” Some may say, ‘But god knows what is in our heart, and surely if He sees we have faith in Him in our hearts, that should suffice.’ But the heart is more than just feelings, it is the driver of our deeds. So if the heart isn’t there, neither will be our deeds. So, our works are as much a reflection of our hearts as our feelings of faith.
As to the works of sharing what we have, Philippians 2:4 says “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” These are a matter of works, are they not? And Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”
So, we stand ready to give what we can. How are our abilities conveyed to others? Passages in the Bible warns us against boasting. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,” which leaves works that we do not boast about. On this, Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”
What if a person is a stranger in town whom nobody heard of, and he wants to share his abilities with the people of the town he is in? Who in that town can praise him? If he says, “I can do that,” does he run the risk of boasting?
What does it mean, to boast? Dictionary.com defines it as “1.to speak with exaggeration and excessive pride, especially about oneself. 2.to speak with pride.” Well, boasting under the first definition doesn’t do much good, since if we do not have the substance to show for it would be better if we boasted in an empty room. The second definition could bring some justified attention to ourselves, because if people see we believe in what we do, they would give us a chance. And if we succeed, we can then leave it to others’ lips to praise us, and we need not boast any more.
What if a person is engaged in works that would justify saying that he is better at it than others doing the same thing? The Lord in Genesis told us to be fruitful. We are told in Psalms that we are wonderfully made. It therefore is Godly for us to do our best. Does that also mean striving to do better than others? Then we may fall into the traps of vanity and pride, but it helps to see what others are doing so we have some indication.
Finally, we must also consider 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 which says, ”’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.” But when would a person be commended by the Lord? A person has to have works to show they are worthy, just as Abraham showed in his willingness to sacrifice his only son, that he was worthy to God. But one must be allowed to engage in works to have works to show. To some extent, in certain situations one must first be allowed to express what they can do; even at that point it might be seen as others as boasting, but once others see what the person can do, the person need not speak for himself to them any longer. To a certain extent, then, we can risk some boasting if it leads to us performing works that justify us under God.
As to the works of sharing what we have, Philippians 2:4 says “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” These are a matter of works, are they not? And Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”
So, we stand ready to give what we can. How are our abilities conveyed to others? Passages in the Bible warns us against boasting. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,” which leaves works that we do not boast about. On this, Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”
What if a person is a stranger in town whom nobody heard of, and he wants to share his abilities with the people of the town he is in? Who in that town can praise him? If he says, “I can do that,” does he run the risk of boasting?
What does it mean, to boast? Dictionary.com defines it as “1.to speak with exaggeration and excessive pride, especially about oneself. 2.to speak with pride.” Well, boasting under the first definition doesn’t do much good, since if we do not have the substance to show for it would be better if we boasted in an empty room. The second definition could bring some justified attention to ourselves, because if people see we believe in what we do, they would give us a chance. And if we succeed, we can then leave it to others’ lips to praise us, and we need not boast any more.
What if a person is engaged in works that would justify saying that he is better at it than others doing the same thing? The Lord in Genesis told us to be fruitful. We are told in Psalms that we are wonderfully made. It therefore is Godly for us to do our best. Does that also mean striving to do better than others? Then we may fall into the traps of vanity and pride, but it helps to see what others are doing so we have some indication.
Finally, we must also consider 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 which says, ”’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.” But when would a person be commended by the Lord? A person has to have works to show they are worthy, just as Abraham showed in his willingness to sacrifice his only son, that he was worthy to God. But one must be allowed to engage in works to have works to show. To some extent, in certain situations one must first be allowed to express what they can do; even at that point it might be seen as others as boasting, but once others see what the person can do, the person need not speak for himself to them any longer. To a certain extent, then, we can risk some boasting if it leads to us performing works that justify us under God.
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