Jeremiah 9:23-24




The Lord says, “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone; that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord.”
I wonder what you boast about? What are the things that give you most pride and pleasure? For many people it’s their family, for others it’s their education, their achievements, their influence or their wealth. Almost certainly, the answer to the question will be found in the things that you are keenest to talk about when you have a chance! You just can’t wait for the opportunity to talk about those things that mean so much to you. In these verses, God was not saying that wisdom, power and riches were bad. There is much that can be very good about all three, but they should never take pride of place in our lives. All three of them are of passing significance, but the Lord is different; our knowledge of him is something with enduring importance.


The Bible constantly invites us to reflect on our lives and the way that we think. Every day we are under pressure from all directions. Our family, friends, work, church, hobbies, to say nothing of the media, are all seeking to shape our thinking. Jeremiah’s passionate desire was that the people of God should correctly order their thinking and put him first. The fact that they refused to do so was an agony for him – because he knew the destructive consequences of their decision. He longed that they should start focusing their lives on the Lord and bragging only about him.
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he spoke about the way in which God turns all our human thinking upside down. Greek society was impressed by great wisdom, but God doesn’t work in that way, he reminded them. Paul reflected that there is no basis on which we can ever boast in the presence of God. Agreeing with the words from Jeremiah he wrote: “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31).




Question: What are you most inclined to boast about?
Prayer: Loving Father, forgive me for those times when I boast about things of temporary importance. Teach me how to boast of what you have done. Amen

Released on 27 Aug 2022