Anything of lasting value that we have to offer to our friends, family, and God’s people was not produced by our natural talent or strength. It came from places of redeemed brokenness, places where the Lord healed us, and where we exchanged the illusion of self-confidence and self-importance for dependence on God.

What we have to offer did not come from our education, our personal pedigree, or the illusion that we have arrived at some spiritual level of enlightenment placing us above others. We have nothing to boast about. What we have to offer is what the Lord healed and then handed back to us and said, “Use this.” We can boast only about the mercy and goodness of God – nothing else.

After Paul wrote about the pain and suffering he endured to present the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, he wrote these words, “If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am” (II Corinthians 11:30). That revelation is fearful to many followers of Jesus. Until that fear is dealt with, our true spiritual self will not emerge. We will continue to live forever trapped within the prison of our ego.

Paul made his stark and honest admission about boasting because he knew for him, and all who would follow his example, God did not call those who appear strong in the eyes of the world or those who have it so together the Lord could not resist calling them because of their natural potential. In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul leveled the playing field regarding our assumptions about an unredeemed image of our self-worth.

“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God” (I Corinthians 126-29).

No alphabet soup of educational accomplishments attached to our name, no matter how many books we write or invitations we receive to preach, or any religious works used to stroke our ego, or any accomplishment we attained by our native talents has the power in itself to advance God’s Kingdom. Only what was broken, redeemed, and resurrected by the Lord has any true and lasting value. The rest is just boasting.