Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else …
Summary: Taking pride in yourself can take many forms. One of them is good, the others, not so much.
Let’s say that you have taken the test and you passed. You have tested your actions and decided that you are “something.”
Now what?
Paul says that people who are “something” “can take pride in themselves …”
Nice! Taking pride in what we do is good!
Then he adds, “alone.”
What?
“Without comparing [yourself] to someone else …”
Wait a minute? Isn’t that what people do best? I thought comparing ourselves to other people is what makes life great. Isn’t that the “American way?”
Perhaps we should take a second look at what it means to be “something.”
The whole point of being “something” is that we are fulfilling the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) and keeping in step with the Spirit (Galatians 6:25).
Jesus summed up “all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40) with two commands: love God above all else and love our neighbors as ourselves.
But being “something” means you are better than others, right?
When Jesus’ disciples argued over which one of them was “something,” Jesus had to step in. He pointed to a young child and said, in effect, here is your mission. Then he said, “For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48)
In effect, he says that if we want to be “something” we must become “nothing.”
Huh?
To hear Mark tell the story, Jesus also said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)
So what, exactly, are we supposed to take “pride” in?
As it turns out, most translators did not choose the word “pride” when they translated the word Paul actually used. What it really means is more akin to feeling good about the job you’ve done than being the “best.”
For example, if my job is to shovel out the barn and clean the floor, nobody will be impressed that I spend the day knee-deep in manure. However, if at the end of the day, the floor looks clean enough to eat on, then I can be “proud” of the job I’ve done.
The Spirit does not always give us the glamor jobs. Jesus’ first “job” was to go out into the wilderness for forty days and nights without credit cards, cash, or food of any kind (Matthew 4:1).
It was not exactly what you would call a “glamor job,” but he did it, and he did it in a way that made his Father proud.
Application: Make God proud!
Food for Thought: How does comparing ourselves with someone else fit in with the second Great Commandment (Matthew 22:40)? Bonus question: How does comparing ourselves with others fit in with the Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:17)?
I think Paul addressed this well in the following passage:
2 Corinthians 10: 12 – 18: We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13We, 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. 14We 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. 15Neither 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, 16so 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. 17But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” b 18For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
The goal here is not to be better than someone else and take pride in our superiority, but to seek God’s approval and glory. In this, we work in the sphere God has assigned to us to advance the gospel and do work which will edify others. So we are not coveting what belongs to others, instead we are loving others by serving them and the Lord in the process. It is easy to seek self adulation, but it is God’s will to seek His approval and promote His glory.
Thank you, Rich!
I think Paul says it well when he points us to “proper limits” for boasting. For example, is it better to boast about what we have done for our Lord or to boast about what our Lord has done for us?
Amen
Very Well said Rich!
Thanks,
Ron
Galatians 6:4 Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.
I. HOW DOES COMPARING OURSELVES WITH SOMEONE ELSE FIT IN WITH THE SECOND GREAT COMMANDMENT?
Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before Me.
Jesus Christ came to earth as God in the flesh. Our Bible is the word of God, recorded and preserved for all mankind by God. These are the standards we are to compare our spiritual condition and growth with. We seek to become Christlike, not Billike, or Marylike. To set are standards to be equal to the standards of any other human is to declare them our god.
Galatians 6:4, But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behavior], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing something commendable without comparing himself to another.
Seeking to satisfy God by becoming equal to and worshiping another creation of God, is to live in opposition to the second commandment.
II. How does comparing ourselves with others fit in with the Tenth Commandment.
Exodus 20:17, You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
2 Timothy 2:20-21, In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for noble use, some for ignoble. If any one purifies himself from what is ignoble, then he will be a vessel for noble use, consecrated and useful to the master of the house, ready for any good work.
1 Corinthians 12:18, But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
Every believer must yield themselves to being molded into the instrument God has predestined we become. To imagine we have a better idea and seek to become the instrument we determine, is obviously an act of disobedience.
Matthew 22:40, The whole Law and the law of the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Ron,
Equating envy of others with idolatry makes a LOT of sense.
Thank you!
If we love God above all else, there really isn’t any room for envy of anyone else.
Yes, putting God first in all things is for our good, not His.
Great questions!
Ron