Bragging Rights

Imagine a child going to school boasting of his great house and his nice car and his luxurious vacations, leading his friends to believe that it’s all because of him. That would be silly. The only thing that child contributes is laughter and perhaps a few chores. It would be ludicrous for any child to boast and take credit for the riches of his parents. The same is true with us. We have no righteousness of our own. Isaiah 64:6 says it plainly, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” We have nothing to offer God. In order to receive the righteousness of God, we have to submit and confess that we are nothing and have nothing to offer a righteous God. We can brag on what Christ has done, but we can never take credit for it— to do so is hypocrisy. The reward of human recognition is merely temporal, but it should not be equated with true righteousness.