The Bottom Line

 

Jeremiah 9:23-24 Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.

 As an American, brought up in a country and society where pulling oneself up by his boot straps, so to speak, is considered an admirable accomplishment, these verses are challenging.  

If a person has worked to get a good education and has battled all the odds to get a good job and establish a good bank account, should they not be proud of their accomplishments?   

What I notice in these verses is that I am not to boast in my accomplishments. To boast is to speak with exaggeration or excessive pride about something. 

Ah hah, there is the problem! 

I have to be cautious about how I perceive my accomplishments. They can become what I boast about, what I rely upon, what I depend upon.

There is a knowledge far superior to my educational background or my work experience.

There is a wealth far superior to my bank account or my credit rating.

What I need more than accomplishment, more than education, more than wealth, is to be smart enough and humble enough to recognize that there is something bigger and more important in the long run than those things.

That "something" is having the understanding to know God and acknowledge Him as God.  I find that wording very enlightening.  Our boasting is to be in the fact that we understand enough to know God.  That we recognize that God in His kindness, justice, and righteousness has blessed us with any wisdom, strength, or wealth that we may have.  That His hand has been in it all.

 He is my “bottom line,” not what I have accomplished or gained on my own.

It puts my education, my accomplishments, and my wealth into perspective. I am proud of them, but guardedly so. No boasting here ... just thanks and appreciation to the God who helped me attain whatever I have.