Love is not boastful or proud

The next two on our list of things that love is not in 1 Corinthians 13 are essentially talk about the same thing. Love is not boastful or proud. To be boastful or proud is to take delight in our own accomplishments or positions and flaunt the fact that other people have not done them. This second part is crucial, there is nothing wrong with recognising who we are and what we have done. Were not asking people to pretend they are something they are not, or pretend they have not accomplished what they have accomplished. Were talking about flaunting that in the face of those who have not and regarding them as inferior because of it. In fact that is the key, its not about your accomplishments its about seeing those accomplishments as making you more important than everyone else. Again our ultimate example of this is Jesus himself. Again I return to the passage in Philippians 2:5-8, which I quote so often. Here was Jesus who was God, yet humbled himself to become human on our behalf and died a death of pain and shame for us. Jesus was not acting proud or boastfully when he lived among us. He was the one who took the servants place during the last supper. Jesus and his disciples had gathered together to celebrate the passover. There was no servant there to wash their feet as they came in from the dusty road. We can imagine the disciples looking at each other, well, Im more important than him, surely you dont expect me to do it. Look, theres ..., he should be doing it before me. If so and so, isnt doing it then Im not. And then Jesus gets up and washes his disciples feet. They are silenced and rightly shamed. They were acting proudly but Jesus was humble. Love is not proud or boastful. But I hear, the sceptics cry, didnt Jesus claim to be the only way to God and such stuff like being the way, the truth and the life. Yes, he did. But he did not do so boastfully or proud. He really was the only way to God. He really was the truth and the life. People needed to know this. Jesus did not act boastfully or proud, but because the people he loved needed to hear it to be saved. To be boastful or proud is to consider yourself to be more important than others. This is the exact opposite of Jesus who gave everything he had, his privileges as God, his position, his home, his possessions, his life for the benefit of others. So how does apply to us. I have been accused of being boastful and proud in the past. It certainly has been true in the past. I hope it is not true now. The word arrogant used to be true of me, I knew I was better than those around me and enjoyed letting others know that I had beaten them in a test or exam. I celebrated when my rivals failed to do as well as they had hoped. Now I enjoy doing well but I rejoice with others when they do as well or better. And if I still take a bit of pleasure in doing better than they, then Im not perfect yet and Im still working on it. I have been accused of being arrogant for being assured in what I believe and confidently affirming it. Perhaps there is a bit of pride sometimes. But I believe in

truth and when I believe something, I will do my best to pass it on. When I feel uncertain or doubtful or unsure, I will say so and not try to pass it off as truth or as if it was uncontestable. I do learn from others and change my views when I am shown to be wrong. I also admit when I was wrong. So what about you? Are you proud or boastful? Pride is the attitude that says I am more important than everyone else. They should be sacrificing for me, not me for them. They should be the ones who are serving me, not me serving them. To be boastful, is just to publicly declare this. Love is not boastful, love is not proud. It considers others more important than ourselves. I am the one who should be serving others. I am the one who should be sacrificing for others. We should be the ones who are serving others. We should be the ones who are sacrificing for others. It means not to think so highly of yourself that any job is beneath you or that any person is so low that you cannot serve them. Love is not boastful or proud. Love considers others as more important.

4 Ways To Puncture Pride: 1) Consider others o Dont overestimate yourself inflated view of self instead, consider others as more important than self. (Phil. 2) o Pride leads to every other vice; it is the completely anti-God state of mind C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 2) Give yourself o Love is concerned to give of self rather than self-assertion. (Arnold) o Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her Eph. 5:25 3) Walk humbly o Mat 23:11-12 he that is greatest among you will be your servant, and whoever exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. o Jonathan Edwards once observed that, Nothing sets a Christian so much out of the devils reach than humility. 4) Serve others o One of the best ways to puncture self-inflated pride is by looking for ways to serve those who you are tempted to look down upon. o Thats what Jesus did when His immature disciples gathered in the upper room: He found the washing equipment used by the servants, took off his teachers robe and dressed like a servant, and humbly washed the dirty, stinky feet of all the people in the room. (John 13) o In what creative ways can you humble yourself and serve others?