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1 Corinthians 1:31 · World English Bible

1 Corinthians 1:31 Meaning That

that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”

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What does 1 Corinthians 1:31 mean?

Boasting is the appetite of a heart in love with its own reflection, forever polishing a name for others to admire. That showing off is the fault; the cure is to move the pride off oneself, praising in the Lord what one used to praise in the mirror, and doing the good quietly where no audience can clap.

From the Sufism reading below.

1 Corinthians 1:31 through 1 lens

The same verse, read by one tradition.

SUFISM

Sufism

Boasting is the appetite of a heart in love with its own reflection, forever polishing a name for others to admire. That showing off is the fault; the cure is to move the pride off oneself, praising in the Lord what one used to praise in the mirror, and doing the good quietly where no audience can clap.

Think of moonlight mistaken for the moon's own fire. Every gift a person might brag about is borrowed light, and the borrowed always points back to its source. To glory in Him is simply to tell the truth about where the shining comes from.

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Sufism lens

Live 1 Corinthians 1:31 today

  1. Before posting or sending something today that shows you in a good light, pause and ask whether you want it seen or want to be seen. Send it or do not, but know which it was.
  2. Praise someone out loud today for something you could have claimed a share of, and leave your part out of it. Give them the whole sentence.
  3. When someone takes credit in front of you for work that was partly yours, let it pass without the correction. Your part still happened, and the light was borrowed anyway.

Whose light have I been describing as my own?

The same truth in other traditions

Tao Te Ching

The sage finishes the work and takes no credit for it, and that is exactly why it holds. Claiming it is what makes it small.

Bhagavad Gita

Act well and release the harvest. The work is yours to do and not yours to be famous for.

Judaism · Pirkei Avot

Who is honored? The one who honors others. The honor you chase runs; the honor you give comes back.

Mid-century illustration of Jesus teaching the crowd on a hillside above the sea

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