Galatians 6:14 says, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which^[b] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

The reason that this passage sticks out to me is largely because of the word “boast.”  Being a competitive person, I like to boast. I can turn just about anything into a competition and I love to win. Competition is fun because of the drive and the rush that goes along with it. In fact, I would say that for most of my life I have looked at most things as a competition. The competitions have changed over the years but that has been my lens for a long time.

When I was in grade school, I looked at popularity as a competition and I didn’t do so well back then. When I got to college the metrics changed but the competition was still there. How high can I get my GPA? How successful compared to others can I make myself? How many girls can I hook up with? I wish that I could say that after I gave my life to Christ this type of thinking stopped but that is not the case.

Once I became a Christian I just changed the metrics yet again. How much scripture could I memorize? How much influence could I attain to? What kind of titles can I gain for myself so that I can be set apart from the rest? Competition. I would boast in what I had accomplished and tried to do it as discreetly as possible….because I wanted to be the most humble.

The problem with competition is that it is a tireless way to live. There is always someone better. There is always another competition and you never ever feel like you arrive. The passage above has really become a life verse for me and I will share why. Paul had accomplished a ton. I don’t have time to go into all his accomplishments but he was pretty successful in the eyes of the world before he surrendered his life to Christ. If Paul wanted to play the competition game, he could have done quite well. But even with everything that Paul had done, in this passage he says that he has 1 boast….just one.

The word “boast” here in this context really means to glory or exult. Paul is saying here that the only reason he has anything good in his life is because of what Jesus did for him. That every victory, every win, every success, every outstanding personal characteristic was purchased for him by the precious blood of Jesus. 1 Boast. “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ….” These are strong words and I believe that Paul understood something that we desperately need to understand.

Anything that we have that we could have apart from Christ isn’t worth having and scripture is pretty clear about that. Every good thing that you have as a Christian ultimately comes from one source and one source alone. Had Jesus not done what he did for you, you would have none of the things that you have started to take pride in or boast in. The point of this post for all of us is to remember where we came from. If you do not have a personal relationship with Christ then this post does not apply to you. I would ask you though….what do you boast in? Why? The Bible makes it very clear that the only thing we deserve apart from Christ is eternal separation from God. The good news of the gospel declares however, that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead so that you could have life. It’s available to you if you will simply receive the gift. For those of us who do know Christ, let’s make Galatians 6:14 the cry of our heart. You have nothing that wasn’t purchased for you by God so don’t take pride in that which you could not have accomplished for yourself. Boast in Jesus. Glory in Jesus. Exult in Jesus and him alone.