SELF-SUFFICIENCY
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SELF-SUFFICIENCY IS BOASTING, BRAGGING, AND ARROGANCE
But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
The word “boastings” means an empty boaster
That is, it is a person who boasts about something he thinks he has, but he does not really have it. He lives in an unreal world.
Any person who goes through life without God is just like this. He lives and plans, thinking that he controls his life and the future.
His life is one big boast of self-sufficiency, and it is wrong, totally wrong.
A thousand things can happen to change his plans—to injure him or to radically change his life and work, or to snatch his life right out of this world.
Note a fact seldom thought about: most boasting is not done by word of mouth.
It is done by the way we live, by flaunting our abilities and successes through our possessions and activities.
We have an urge, a tendency to boast and to be seen and recognized as better and more successful than others.
And note what Scripture says: we rejoice in our boastings—that we are more successful in our work than some others. But such boastings—such pride and arrogance—are evil.
Why? Because a man’s ability and life are due to God and rest in the hands of God.
ILLUSTRATION:
A thought provoking story is found in Aesop’s fables about a fox and a crow. One day a fox was walking through the woods when he spied a crow with a piece of cheese in its beak. The fox desperately wanted the cheese, so he began to try to irritate the crow saying, “What an ugly bird you are.” The fox thought to himself, “If the crow responds to me with an insult, she will drop the cheese and I will have it for my supper.” But the crow was intent on saving the cheese for her young and paid no attention whatever to the fox. Then the fox tried a different approach. He said to the crow, “Oh, but what a beautiful singing voice you have. Of all the birds I have ever heard, truly you are the greatest. If only I could hear one beautiful note.” As the fox continued, the crow swelled with pride. Quickly, the crow opened her mouth, let out a squawk, dropping the cheese to the hungry fox below.
Boasting will not only keep us from gaining, it will cost us what we have. Stay humble before God, and He will lift you up.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY IS SIN
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
This is a striking definition of sin: to know that we should do something and to refuse to do it is sin.
As simply stated as possible: when we know to do good and refuse to do it, it is sin.
A person is to trust and acknowledge God, pray and ask God for His presence, guidance, help, care, and strength...
-when he plans today and tomorrow.
-when he goes into a city.
-when he continues in the city.
-when he buys and sells.
-when he gets gain.
-when he does this and that.
A person is to walk in fellowship and communion with God day by day and moment by moment, acknowledging Him in all his ways.
He is to commit his life—all his ways—unto the Lord. Refusing to do so is sin, and the wages of sin is death—spiritual and eternal death.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
