“Many a man proclaims his own loyalty and goodness, But who can find a faithful and trustworthy man?”
Proverbs 20:6 AMP
There’s a self-esteem crisis in our land. A raging wave, stories high, full of power, driving and speeding forward at a furious pace – merciless and ready to destroy all in its path. It’s sweeping toward us.
It’s the sin of pride.
Our self-esteem problem is that we think we have no sin. Our self-esteem problem is the pride that thinks “we have a good heart” and that “we mean well.”
Despite John’s warning that if we say we have no sin that we deceive ourselves and call Him a liar, we persist. The evidence is abundant. All of us profess to be good. We say we can be trusted. We profess love but break our vows. We profess friendship and then gossip and betray. We run our mouth about our faithfulness but talk is cheap. A faithful man, who can find? Indeed.
We live in a land where breaking our word is a thing that’s done with the regularity of men and women running traffic lights. We must have ironclad legal agreements because no one can be trusted to fulfill his promise. We have lawyers in every field trying to restrain the sin that pours out of self-deceptive hearts that don’t fear God. Every man proclaims his goodness and his loyalty and yet every man can tell sad tales of woe due to betrayal. These are the facts. We aren’t what we think we are. Being polite and smiling at people in public are only the window dressing of dilapidated hearts who worship themselves.
For this reason, Jesus shocked everyone. He shocked them with truths that should have been readily evident to one and all. But due to our suppression of the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18-21) and our refusal to fear the Lord (Proverbs 1:7) we are by default, self-deceived. We think we can play at sin but sin is like borrowing money from a loan shark. We can never afford the interest. When Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8 that they were like their father, the Devil, it was surely a scandalous thing to say. Well, scandal or no, we need to hear it today. Ephesians 2 tells us the same thing in principle. We’re all “sons of disobedience”, children of the Devil, not God, until we come to Christ in faith.
This is the backbone and foundation of today’s verse. A sinner proclaiming honor and loyalty is like a crippled man pledging to run the Boston Marathon. “Who can say, ’ I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin’? (Proverbs 20:9).” No man, outside of Christ has the power in himself to be righteous and no matter how he tries, he’ll fall unless he’s in His hand. No man is undefeated. Sin will pick us clean. Sin will debase us, humiliate us, degrade us, and kill us. No man saves himself from sin and death. It is only the work of Christ.
Thus we call such boasting what it is. It’s pride and pride kills because it convinces us that we don’t need a Savior. All boasting ends, for the Christian, in Christ and what He has done and is doing for us. So matter of fact is this verse that it shocks when we think about it. Yes, it’s talking about you and me. It is. If you think you can stand against the great tide of sin, you must repent and run for the cover of grace. You are like a man standing in the path of the tsunami, bold, stupid, and reckless. Run. Run for grace…flee youthful self-reliance and throw yourself unhesitatingly at His feet. And there, at his feet, you will stand, for He will make you stand because He is the God who is life’s source, not you. So many pains can be averted in the Christian life as we learn the great lesson of humility and Godly sorrow over sin.
The world tells men to act like fools. It tells us to boast and brag and “get what’s coming to us.” Christ tells us to seek Him and His glory, not our own because when we put Him first we rise and sin is defeated. Unless sin is vanquished no man can stand before God and only through faith in Christ is sin defeated. Man’s pride challenges God to a duel. The man who says he’s loyal is the man who says his heart is pure and that Christ is a liar and didn’t really have to die on the cross for sin.
This is the great and monstrous idiocy at the root of boasting.
Instead, boast in the Lord. Boast of His many mercies to you and watch how you rise. Yes, humble yourself and you’ll be exalted. To be faithful to the One who is loyal will make you a man. Trying to be an alpha male is a fool’s errand since Christ is the Alpha and Omega – the first and the last. Not you. Not me. Not any man. Christ is the Alpha-male. Be God’s man and that’s all…and the other things, by grace, will be added to you.
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