Day 7 The Boasting Tongue

Boast - To speak with excessive pride, brag.
Proverbs 27: 1,2
'Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips.
My husband said in the sales area of the company he works for, self-promotion is the buzzword. In the game of climbing the corporate ladder or gaining a reputation, God's favor is often forgotten. They boast in their abilities or accomplishments, ignoring or forgetting everything they have is from God.
Deborah Pegue has framed this verse and hung it in her office to remind her she is nothing without God. 1 Corinthians 4:7 'For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?'
Our pride keeps us from acknowledging God is the giver of all things. Whatever skills or talents we have been given are for God's glory, not ours. I have been guilty as well of bragging on my kids talents and abilities as though somehow I was the one who gave them all that. My motives were sometimes based in my own insecurity that if they were 'good', I was too. This is not saying we can't encourage our kids in what they have been given.
The author cautions that we learn to take praise in stride as well. If you consume the perfume of it, it can be toxic. As you examine your speech today, pray for a humble spirit and and acknowledge God in all your ways.
Speaking the Truth
1 Corinthians 15:10a 'But by the grace of God, I am what I am....'
Jeremiah 9:23,24
'This is what the Lord says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this;
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the Lord who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight."
declares the Lord.