Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Oh baby, here it is straight from the Bible. Modesty seems to be a trait that has lost favor amongst our people. Just look at the sports world for proof of my words. What do you see in most sports, self-promotion. Make a tackle, jump up and dance like a fool, break up a pass throw your hands up and pound your chest. Lord forbid if you score a TD. We’ve all seen the theatrics in the end zone. Dunk the ball, beat your chest and howl.
But God clearly states that man should be humble and modest. He should not brag or boast of his accomplishments. He should not attempt to bring glory to himself from his own lips. God says it is better to be let others build us up from their mouths.
Upon some pondering, I wondered why this seems to be a segregated issue. I tried to recall any “white” athletes doing the extreme boasting and self-promoting. A few came to mind (Gastaneau, Bozworth, Namath, White Chocolate) but for the most part for every 2-3 white athletes I thought of 5-6 black athletes came to mind.
I thought to myself why is that. Is it something ingrained in us from years of oppression? That we feel we must be recognized and given proper adulation for our acts. Clearly, there is a subset of our people who have rebuffed this virtue called modesty.
I implore you to be modest in your action. Do well, exceed and excel and let others profess your good doings. Believe me if they do not vocalize it they know it in their hearts and surely God knows it.
Also, I’d be remissed if I did not also state that there are MANY good deeds done by our people that go unmentioned. Be steadfast, it is known to WHOM it really matters….
The Holy Spirit finds modesty so rare that He takes care to record it. – Charles H. Spurgeon
Remember, it takes a long time to grow old friends. b