“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
Despite the clear message that the above scripture is relaying to us, for some strange reason, there are numerous human beings in this world who have come to the conclusion that they are powerful. The sun rises and sets when they say so and if it weren’t for them, nothing would be possible. Some of us really think we are the ones that run the show. We have really got it twisted.
Do we honestly think that we are the sole ones responsible for these long lists of accomplishments that we have under our belts? Does the outcome of a situation happen the way it does because we think that’s how it should be or does God have the ultimate say so overall?
It seems to me that we forget sometimes who made it possible for us to achieve anything period. It is God and no one but Him. God has ALL power and has control over the situations that we are or aren’t placed in. And because of that, He determines our rises to success and our struggles to get there. But that lack of humility that we develop once we get a little change in our pockets or start raking in degree after degree and promotion after promotion keeps us from remembering that important part.
So is it not okay to be proud of yourself for what you have done?
I have had my own personal struggle with this. Not because I am known to be an overly arrogant person who thought the world revolved around her. It was because I had that fear that if I expressed any ounce of pride in the things that I achieved, I would be deemed as an individual who lacks humility. But after a heartfelt conversation with my mother and over the years, truly learning and knowing the difference between being cocky versus being confident, I realized that being humble yet having a sense of joy about what you have done is not a bad thing at all.
Possessing self pride and self confidence are things that everyone should have. God doesn’t want us to hang our heads when we are doing positive things in His sight. He wants us to rejoice in our blessings. But often times our rejoicing turns into boasting and bragging. God frowns upon this type of behavior because in His eyes, we are all equal. We are all His children. Having multiple letters in front of or behind your name or having a fleet of luxury cars lined up in your driveway makes you no better than the next person. And it surely won’t save you from the burning flames of Hell if you are not being obedient to His word. Not because I said so but because God said so.
Having that shear excitement and thrill of knowing that your hard work has finally paid off is okay. Those things are only frowned upon when they are taken too far, when a person’s humility has gone completely out of the window.
Be subtle in your celebration of the things that you have accomplished. And let others speak of your greatest.