Quit Bragging!
Luke 14:11. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
It’s never a good idea to get too puffed up. I was coaching a Little League major league team and we stunk. It was not a fun season. Then our starting catcher broke her arm. Great, now I had to go to the minors to find a replacement.
We hadn’t won a game all year, and this minor leaguer comes to his first practice and tells my son, Chris, “You guys will win some games now that I am here…” You have to say this for the kid, what he lacked in talent he more than made up for with bravado.
His very first game came, and as he was standing in the on deck circle, Chris came up to bat. Now my son, well, he’s my son. So when he got a pitch inside he put his noggin in the way and got hit in the helmet. Chris goes down in a heap! I run up to him and look at him, “Critter, are you okay?”
Critter looked up at me and whispered, “I’m fine,Dad, I’m trying to make the pitcher feel bad.” Like I said, my son. Not only did that apple not fall far from the tree, I’m pretty sure it hit the tree on the way down!
Critter finishes his Academy Award performance and heads to first base. I looked over at the new kid and he looked like he had just seen a UFO! He wasn’t scared, he was terrified.
After some cajoling I get him up to the batters box. His bat was shaking so bad he could have made whipped cream with it!
He literally ran out of the batter’s box for each pitch and struck out for his first and only major league at bat. Contrary to his boastful proclamation, we didn’t win that, or many other games that year.
How much better it would have been for the new kid to come to his first practice with an attitude of humility? Come in, learn, and set yourself up to be exalted. But when you come in boastful and proud, you’re just waiting to get knocked down a peg.
God’s Kingdom will exalt the humble and humble the exalted. I don’t know about you, but I would rather get God’s praise than my own.
Trying not get get knocked down a peg… Jerry