Reading through Ephesians 2 this week, this phrase caught my attention: “not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (2:9 ESV).

God made our relationship with Him, our salvation, rest on HIS work alone. We didn’t do anything except accept it. Like other places in the New Testament, we learn that our lives after salvation continue this concept.

Galatians 3:3 asks: “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Anything good that I am involved in as a Christian is also set up in such a way that I cannot boast. Paul talks about how Christians compare or judge each other (1 Corinthians 4:6-7). He says he doesn’t want the believers in Corinth to “be puffed up in favor of one against another . . . What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

This convicts me at this point in my life — as I search for something to validate who I’ve been all these years. What do I have to show for my life? I want to be proud of my accomplishments! I want to make a name for myself (though I don’t like to say it exactly like that!). This desire is not from God! Yet it colors how I spend my time, what my priorities are, and what I value.

Please, Lord, help me be satisfied in walking with You day by day. Let me leave my “praise” in Your hands, not seeking to please myself and others. Let me make You happy and bring honor to YOU. You alone are worthy. Forgive me for taking credit for Your doing. Forgive me for seeking approval and accolades from other sources than from You. Amen.