What does it mean to boast in the Lord?

Question: "What does it mean to boast in the Lord?"

Answer: The phrase “boast in the Lord” is found in 1 Corinthians 1:31 and is heard commonly today in the prosperity gospel and Word of Faith movement. Boasting about worldly possessions and portraying them as rewards for obedience to God’s will is most decidedly not boasting in the Lord. Not only is this not supported in Scripture anywhere, it doesn't even pass the common sense test. The word "boast" is an intransitive verb which literally means, "to puff oneself up in speech; speak vaingloriously.”

In this sense, this definition is absolutely perfect, because the notion that God cares about our personal belongings or that He directly contributed to our having them is unbiblical, so this kind of boasting really would be puffing oneself up in speech rather than the Lord. This is why the prosperity gospel is a false gospel and therefore no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-10).

First, let’s look at this from the same aspect as the rest of the world. If material possessions were actually blessings from God, then why are so many evil and immoral people wealthy? It is well documented throughout the Old and New Testaments that the Lord does not reward wickedness, so why would he allow wicked people to prosper? This is but one question the prosperity gospel fails to answer adequately, but the answer is very apparent. God allows wicked people to prosper first and foremost as clear evidence that He does NOT care for the things this world offers. God cares about things that are eternal, not things that are here today and gone tomorrow.

The flip side of this question is why would God then allow good Christian people to also prosper, if he truly isn't concerned with material things. The prosperity gospel will point to the fact that the Bible says all good things are a gift from God. But this is not entirely accurate. The Bible actually says in James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

The mistake that the prosperity gospel makes is first forgetting to emphasize the word "perfect" after the word good, and secondly, thinking that man determines what is good and perfect and what isn't. But God is the one who determines what is good and perfect. His standard set forth in Scripture for perfect is Jesus Christ. Everything else has fallen drastically short, especially material things.

So why do Christians sometimes prosper materially? It simply boils down to what God sees as glorifying Him or what serves His perfect purpose. God may, for example, grant “prosperity” to a certain person who struggles with distractions of the flesh, either as a test, or a way to develop his spiritual walk and learn to not focus on wealth and belongings, but on the Lord. After all, the primary thing God wants from us is that everything we do is to glorify Him. An example of someone in the Bible who fits this description would be King Solomon. Solomon was not only considered one of the wisest men of all time, but one of the richest, even richer than Alexander the Great and Xerxes of Persia. Solomon came to the conclusion that all his wealth was “worthless,” “meaningless” and a “waste of time” (Ecclesiastes 1–3). The richest man who ever lived realized that his riches were all "folly" because none of it was eternal.

God also may grant good things to Christians to see their reaction when it is taken from them, so they may see what is truly the center of their lives and be an example to us. The example of Job is an excellent, if extreme, instance of this. As soon as everything was taken from him, and also throughout and after his discourse with his three worldly friends, Job gave the glory to God. In the lives of both Solomon and Job, God was glorified and the whole of Christianity now benefits from their tales. While the average "well-to-do" Christian may not fall under the extreme parameters of either of these examples, the way others observe how they handle their wealth in a godly manner would serve to glorify God.

Paul’s statements about boasting weren’t referring to worldly possessions. The context of this was work done in the name of the Lord and about "commending oneself" in 2 Corinthians 10:13-18. "We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. But, ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."

Furthermore, 1 Timothy 6:3-10 is the death knell for the prosperity gospel. This is the passage of Scripture that refers to the love of money as “the root of all evil” and also makes it clear that "we brought nothing into this world, and can take nothing out of it," and that "we should be content with food and clothing." The example of the rich young ruler in Matthew 16:19-30 also illustrates Jesus' view on wealth as a stumbling block, highlighted by His statement that it is "easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."

The most compelling argument against thinking that boasting about our nice possessions is boasting in the Lord is found in Revelation 20:11, where it describes the current earth and sky "fleeing from the presence" of the Great White Throne of judgment because there was "no place for them." This speaks volumes as to how God views the earth and sky and everything in it when in the presence of the "Perfect One," Jesus Christ, on the judgment throne.

The bottom line is that true boasting in the Lord is actually boasting of the Lord. Boasting of what he has done for us, boasting of His great attributes, boasting of what He is still doing, and what He has promised to do. Jeremiah 9:23-24 says it all: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 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. For in these things I delight,’ declares the LORD."

Recommended Resource: Landmines in the Path of the Believer: Avoiding the Hidden Dangers by Charles F. Stanley.