Ready:
"All who serve carved images, those who boast in idols, will be put to shame. All the gods must worship Him."
-Psalm 97:7
Set:
Recently, San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds has been getting a lot of attention. In newspapers or on TV, Bonds is featured at least every other day, sometimes for no other reason than going hitless. But the reason Bonds is shown every day is because he continues to draw closer to Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs.
Because of this pending record, fans of Bonds are boasting about him. At the San Francisco Giants' ballpark, Bonds has his own sign in left field that says "a Giant among legends." He also has his own personal home run target, McCovey Cove, in right field, which was specifically made for Bonds.
While it is fine to cheer for sports figures, we must be careful how far we take this adoration. The Bible says to not boast in people (idols). Psalm 97 says that we should not boast in idols, but that we should worship the Lord. God wants us to boast in Him, not worry about breaking a record. He wants us to give Him the glory for all that He has done for us.
Today, if you boast in Jesus Christ, you will always be a champion.
Go:
1. Have you ever boasted about something? What was the result of your boasting?
2. Do you think boasting is good or bad? Why?
3. What have you learned about boasting?
Workout:
1 Corinthians 1:31
1 Corinthians 3:21
2 Corinthians 10:17