Love Is Not Boastful Or Proud

Alba 11-23-2025

LOVE IS NOT BOASTFUL OR PROUD

I Corinthians 13:4

According to a story in the Grand Rapids Press sometime ago, when foreign cars were new to the U.S., the owner of a small foreign car had begun to irritate his friends by bragging incessantly about his good gas mileage. So they decided on a way to get some humor out of his tireless boasting, as well as bring it to an end.

Every day, one of them would sneak into the parking lot where the man kept his car and pour a few gallons of gas into the tank. Soon the braggart was recording absolutely phenomenal mileage. He was boasting of getting as much as 90 miles per gallon. And the pranksters took secret delight in his exasperation as he tried to convince people of the truthfulness of his claims. It was even more fun to watch his reaction when they stopped refilling the tank. The poor fellow couldn’t figure out what had happened to his car. He had boasted. Then he was humbled.

God often humbled people before He made them great. In James 4:6 we’re told “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Before Joseph became the Prime Minister of Egypt, he had to spend time as a slave and be cast into an Egyptian prison. Before Moses, who grew up in the palace of Pharaoh, ever became the great deliverer and leader of Israel, he had to spend years as a shepherd in the fields of Midian, a very humbling experience. Dwight L. Moody said this about Moses. “He spent his first forty years thinking he was somebody. He spent his second forty years learning he was a nobody. He spent his third forty years discovering what God can do with a nobody.”

And before Saul of Tarsus became the great apostle to the Gentiles and wrote most of the New Testament, he had to be humbled on the Damascus Road by the blinding flash of light from heaven, and the voice of the resurrected Lord. I admire the apostle Paul because all throughout his ministry, he never glosses over the fact that he once persecuted Christians. Again and again he reminds himself and us, “I am the chief of sinners, saved by the grace of God.” Paul learned that humility is a very important part of our love relationship. That is probably why in First Corinthians 13:4 Paul says that "Love does not boast, it is not proud" (NIV).

And yet, humility is often belittled today. We are much more concerned with feeling good about ourselves, being proud of ourselves, and boasting about our accomplishments. Politicians brag about what they have done, and assure you that if you will vote for them again that they will accomplish even more. Too often their boasts don't live up to their words.

Being boastful and proud can get you into trouble. Perhaps you’ve heard of the guy who took a first aid course and was so proud of his accomplishment in completing it. No sooner had he finished it than he came upon an accident in which a person was injured.

He rushed over to where the injured person was being attended to by a woman, and took charge. He shoved everybody aside, including the woman, and said, “Give me room. I’ve just finished a first aid course and I know what to do.” He knelt down beside the injured person and started doing what he could. The woman he had pushed away stood there a few moments and then said, “When you get to that point in your first aid training where it says, 'Call the doctor', I’ll be right here.” That man needed to stop for a moment and ask some questions.

There are times we need to stop and remember who we are, because we are in the presence of the Lord. That would help us develop proper humility. The key goal of those who boast is to exalt themselves…to exalt themselves either for the purpose of creating envy in others, or for the purpose of furthering their ambitions in life. Bragging is their way of trying to manipulate the people around them.

That kind of thinking runs completely against everything God tries to teach us. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up”. I think it is alright to feel good about ourselves. I think it is okay to consider our accomplishments. But instead of trying to lift ourselves in the view of others, isn't it better to let the Lord do that? It is much better for us to seek the praise of God rather than the praise of people. We are called to love one another. And if love is not boastful or proud...