God's Message: "Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don't let heroes brag of their exploits. Don't let the rich brag of their riches. If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I'm God, and I act in loyal love. I do what's right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks." God's Decree. (Jeremiah 9:23,24 — The Message)
Our lives on earth can revolve around many different things — money, family, health, wisdom, success, accomplishments, possessions, pleasure — but only one thing is truly important, that we know God. Nothing else matters.
This passage is a warning against pride. We all have this problem, especially those of us with an extra dose of intelligence, accomplishments, riches, or good looks. But we should all remember that any good thing that we have is a gift from God, and our response should be gratefulness and a desire to use what we have to help and encourage others to know God. Today’s passage warns anyone with wisdom, exploits, and riches against boasting and pride.
After some time all those earthy things will be burned up and the only thing left will be the spiritual accomplishments we have achieved. However, the man or woman who knows God and trusts in Him will live forever — they are laying up treasures for themselves in heaven. They live under God's constant care and protection now, and have eternity to look forward to. So avoid at any cost the terrible mistake of boasting about yourself and trusting in things that are unable to guarantee your future. And don’t let pride and boasting have any place in your lives. God resists and humbles the proud. “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
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