Good Boasting

Surely that is an oxymoron. Surely boasting is wrong, so there can be no such thing as “good boasting.” Or can there?

When a teacher tells someone about the good work a pupil has done, knowing that the pupil will overhear and knowing that this pupil needs a bit of encouragement, is that not good? When the apostle Paul, the chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:15), boasted about how the cross of Christ had saved him from his sin (Gal 6:14), is that not good boasting? When Peter and John told the people that they had no power to raise the lame and make them walk, but Jesus could do it (Acts 3), is that not good boasting?

We normally associate boasting with one who talks about himself. But in the three examples above, someone is speaking highly not of self but of another. In two of the three examples, that other is Jesus. That can often be a good form of boasting.

To become a good boaster, we must be willing to admit negative things about ourselves. To boast about the cross, we must admit that Christ’s horrible death was necessary because of our sin. Even for the teacher to effectively boast about the student, there should be an admission that the student is going beyond what the teacher thought could be made of the lesson as the teacher gave it.

Herein lies our problem. We want the credit. But it is impossible to do good boasting while sneaking in a little boasting about ourselves. “I am such a brilliant teacher that even little Johnny understands algebra now” is not going to do Johnny a bit of good. It is an insult rather than a help. “The Lord saved me because he saw that I was really a good person at heart” is boasting for sure, but not of the good kind. The focus becomes self. The star of the show is the speaker, not the Lord.

Let’s try to do more good boasting, on others and on the Lord. We will fail at it. We will catch ourselves sneaking in a little self-promotion along the way. But let’s try.

“But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth” (Jeremiah 9:24, ESV).

“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (2 Corinthians 10:17, ESV).