The Excellent Way #8

Matthew 5:5

"Blessed are the humble, for they will

inherit the earth."

Another negative Paul gave in his description of love in I Cor. 13:4 was "...it does not boast..."(NIV) The Interlinear says "...does not brag..." The Amplified reads "...is not boastful or vainglorious..."

As far as I can tell the Greek word here (perpereuomai) is not used in any other place in the Bible. The noun form from which the word comes, (poneros), according to Zodhiates, is not found in scripture. It means "braggert."

Zodhiates lists several synonyms for perpereuomai but they are also listed as synonyms for the next negative Paul uses in I Cor. 13:4 "...love..." "...is not proud...".

The World Book Dictionary defines "brag" as "to praise oneself in what one has," and it defines "boast" as "to speak highly of oneself."

It is a fact that if one majors in selfism then time for others is limited; the feelings of others are ignored; the needs of others are overlooked; and the only attention others are apt to get is destructive criticism. No wonder unity cannot thrive in such an atmosphere. The passage that tells it all is found in Luke 18.

"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like all other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all my income." But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."(NIV)(Lk. 18:9-14)