“Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
“But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” Jn 13:36-38.NLT
Boasting is defined “as excessively proud and self-satisfied talk about one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities”. The definition of boastful is being a braggart, or having an overinflated sense of pride.
A person who is constantly talking about his own accomplishments is an example of someone who would be described as boastful. Does that description describe you? If so, read further. In John 13, you see how loquacious Peter was. Earlier in the passage he had this conversation with Jesus.
“When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” Jn 13:6-8
So you see that Peter is always full of outbursts. The last boast was so much that Jesus responded with a prophetic insight and a word of caution- for him which unfortunately he did not learn from.
Paraphrased Jesus said, “ Peter, you talk too much, and you are unnecessarily boastful about your abilities , let me tell you, you can’t do many of the things you are saying, for instance tonight before the cock crows you will deny me not once, not twice, but thrice”.
Why three times? So that Peter cannot say “It was a mistake” Or “I was quoted out of context”. When you repeatedly act in a certain way trust me that is your true character.
A woman that has had five husbands and is now doing trial and error with the sixth one and yet does not know the problem is not about men needs to do a rethink.
Fast forward, Peter denied Jesus three times! Even with the foreknowledge- he did it!
What the Holy Spirit is saying today is beyond just boasting it is about you not identifying your weaknesses. Remember Peter was regular in every service. Remember Peter led his evangelical team to witness every Saturday. Remember Peter received profound revelation that baffled his contemporaries and Jesus himself confirmed it as a true revelation from God. But it did not stop Peter from his weakness of boasting!
What is in your life that despite all this years of being in church you have not dealt with?
Are you always loud? Do you promise what you cannot deliver? Do you tell lies? Do you always show off? Are you in the school of the prideful? Why are you trying to impress others when you know your weaknesses?
Boastfulness is about promising what you cannot deliver.
Boastfulness is about exaggeration of your ability or capacity.
Have you heard people with church membership of one thousand referring to it as over seven thousand?
Boastfulness is about showing off. Jesus was teaching the body of Christ how not to boast. Don’t boast about tomorrow. Don’t boast about your strength. Don’t boast about your ability or inability. Don’t just talk before you think. Weigh the consequences of what you want to say. You should know what you are capable of doing and what you cannot do.
I read recently about a father who took his son for a walk and thought him lessons from The Mango, The Coconut and the Bitter Leaf.
He told him to plug a ripe mango, but none was ripe. “Here is your first lesson Son, don’t fight to be seen or noticed, rather work on your fruit to be ripe.” We are like unripe mangoes in one area or the other of our lives. Let us work on ourselves.Then he told him to pluck the coconut, which he did by throwing stones and sticks because it was tall and unreachable by hand.
The old man said “You see that coconut tree, no matter how many you pluck, it won’t dry up because of you. It will keep producing more coconut. It is because it produces more that makes it relevant in my compound. If not, I would have uprooted it a long time ago.”
Brethren when you are not boastful you attract less enemies and you will be more resourceful. When I see people spraying money in parties I see braggart, empty vessels making the most noise. Displaying $20 dollars in one dollar denominations twenty times, main while you see people putting $2000 in envelope without noise!
Who do you think armed robbers will attack after the party? He learnt the third lesson.
“See Son, look at that bitter leaf at the other side of the compound, go and taste it. I moved a bit and I said, Sir, I don’t really like it. He smiled and said, Son, ‘This shows that, not everyone will like what you do, but you must never allow that to determine how you grow.’”
There is pressure on you particularly in this generation to show your stuff- be proud, be boastful.
That is the way of the world.
Broad is the way that lead to destruction and narrow is the gate to eternal life. Stop. Find out if your thinking, your philosophy of life is tantamount to boastfulness and repent today.
Conclusion: The Holy Spirt is warning you to stop. Stop boasting about material wealth, money, property, cars, clothing, position, status, bank account. They have wings and fly away . That uniform you are wearing and you are using to boast and destroy others is for a while. Someone will wear it tomorrow. That seat you occupy in that bank, Church, court, legislative house, even as a Premier/Governor, President/Prime Minister will be occupied by someone else tomorrow.
With all of Pharaohs boasting- “I don’t know your God and I will never let you go.” God deliver the children of Israel and caused him to perish in the Red Sea. Thank God Peter had the wisdom to repent and that saved his life and ministry.
You too can borrow the wisdom of Peter and repent today and stop boasting after all it is better to learn from other people mistakes than yours.
Here what the bible says :
“But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken! Jer 9:24.
Shalom
