When Boasting Causes Envy

It’s hard sometimes to not be envious of people who always boast about their achievements.  We know we can never fill such shoes yet these people boast about every last thing they do.  They get a gig and have to tell everyone about it in great detail boasting about how they got chosen.  Then they lay it on thick by saying they give God glory and continue to boast about how they were chosen.  Brag brag brag.  Giving glory to God in a prideful way is the same as saying look at what God did for MEEEEEEEEEEE. 

There are others who achieve a particular status on a job and they become our boss.  Look out!!!!  They continually drop little hints that we could do things better, afterwards we get called into private meetings to discuss our attitude, not their pride.  Next is to be called into group meetings to discuss how the group can do things better while the boss drops hints to the group that it is us who is targeted.  We know we handle our job efficiently.  We are always on time, take shorter lunches and accomplish the daily tasks fully.  It’s not long before we learn that this boss is kissing up to a potential new employee who has popularity among a certain group.  Again, it’s hard not to become envious of such a new employee or that boss.

Still others will do favor after favor for people seeking praise.  When they get it, they do more favors.  They run over other people who try to help, even wanting others to help them so they have more to use to continue helping.  They are the whole show accepting praise after praise.  Their name gets called out by others who were helped talking about the greatness of this person and they make a boastful statement saying they could never be that helpful without the help of others.  These people push others away from helping while accepting additional material from others to help these people to keep up their reputation of helping.

There are numerous examples but each one points to the same problem; pride.  Pride hurts people.  It causes people to choose sides.  It puts others down or runs over people.  It leaves innocent people wondering what is the use of even trying.    The more bows they take the smaller we feel sometimes.  How do we avoid envy?  Will things ever work out where we get some credit?

The first thing to do is to avoid such people if at all possible then pray for them.  While people are praising these boasters God notices what is going on and God is also noticing us.  It takes more effort to display humility than to garner praise and humility pleases God.  It does no good to earn praises of people that lasts only moments when God is waiting to reward humility for eternity.  As for the job or position we lost remember Jesus told the disciples that anyone giving up status, family, farms to follow Him will never go unnoticed by Him.  God Himself will reward far more than what we lost.  The gigs we never get because the boaster gets them all will be awarded to us by God at a later time and with much more impact than anything we try to manipulate from the boaster.  The ones pushing others away to be the only one helping are getting the only reward they will ever receive.

When we focus on these situations on God’s terms we have everything to gain in His timing and in His way. 

Jeremiah 9:23-24 New Living Translation (NLT)

This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know Me and understand that I am the Lord Who demonstrates unfailing love and Who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!