Do Not Be Boastful

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1

Isn't this the truth! I think we've all experienced this at one time or another. We're riding high, things are going fantastic and then poof- just like that there is a major shift or change. When I think back to my working days, I definitely experienced that one. I clearly remember one time in particular where I worked fantastically hard on a re-design of a section of the store, and by the time it was finished, I thought it was beautiful and functional, and exactly what the space needed. And no doubt, I pointed it out to anyone who would want to look at it. I went home from work that night feeling like I'd really made a major accomplishment and I was looking forward to the next day to show it off some more and gaze at my hard work. Wouldn't you know, the very next day the district manager dropped in unannounced and ripped my hard work to shreds- it was not meeting company standards at all and needed to be completely re-done. I had my share of humble pie that day, and learned a valuable lesson.

It's easy to talk about tomorrow or the days and times to come and talk about how we're going to do this or purchase that. But I need to point out the obvious- why do we do that? It's one thing to discuss tomorrow in a relationship, like a marriage. Andy and I can sit and talk for hours about our dreams and hopes for the future. Then there are times where we are sitting with others and those same dreams and hopes come out and become concrete plans- like we're bragging about what tomorrow may bring. Bragging and boasting are never good things. Usually, what comes of being boastful is someone else being hurt or feeling like they are inadequate compared to you. Someone may really be struggling financially to even put food on the table or pay rent, and there you are bragging about how you're buying expensive this and that. How horrible!

"Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

Pride goeth before the fall. I know we have all heard that one. When we are boasting and bragging, we are being prideful, and I don't know about you, but looking at this from the outside, a braggart is just begging for the fall- don't you think?

And what would Jesus do in a fellowship of companions? Did he ever brag or boast even once about the things he'd done or accomplished in his life? Never once. Instead he used some of his accomplishments as tools for learning- either for himself or those around him. But he never bragged and said "look what I did." And we can totally learn from that and be more mindful to be more like Jesus. We can make the effort to not brag or boast. And most especially, we should not brag about what tomorrow may bring, because we truly don't know what God has in store for tomorrow. We need to focus on today- on the now and what we are doing at this very moment. Tomorrow will have it's own set of needs, problems and accomplishments. Lets just focus on what today is going to be and make it a great today instead of a so-so yesterday because we were so focused on tomorrow.