"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Many perceive Paul the apostle as a highly successful minister of the Gospel. Indeed many see him as the foremost apostle in all the dimensions of the apostolic ministry. But here, Paul attributes all the positive things about his life that others were admiring to the grace of God and nothing to himself. It was the grace of God that made him an apostle of Christ and a preacher of the Gospel. It was grace that enabled him to labour and toil, and attain the successes that attended his ministrations. Paul was particularly careful to magnify the free favour of God, and the gifts of his grace in his life.
It is a beautiful thing for a man to always know that the best part of his life is a product of God's grace. I came to understand long ago that if there is any good in me, any honour, any glory, it is the Lord - by the Lord and of the Lord. Man is by himself utterly incapable of any good. That has been the case since sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. It was the realization of this fact that made apostle Paul to cry out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24).
Today, man at his best is still wretched. The advances in medicine, science and technology would not stop men from sinning. As knowledge increase, man's depravity expands, so that in his perverted wisdom, the abnormality of a man getting married to another man or to his dog has now become normal. The Bible concludes that all men have sinned, and all men have come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It is for this reason that boasting about any virtue is excluded. The most humble of men knows his moments of pride. The most patient knows his moments of impatience and anger, and the most meticulous among the descendants of Adam and Eve knows his moments of carelessness.
So we must come to understand that the best of virtues on display in our lives are the products of God’s grace. It is sheer ignorance to boast about any quality you have. If you will be sincere, you will know that you have disappointed yourself many times. James says when men gladly boast about their virtues or achievements, all such rejoicing is evil and could attract the wrath of God because it indicates extreme folly and pride against God (James 4:16). It was for this reason that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon was punished, being sentenced to the animal kingdom for seven years to go learn humility before God. His confession after his release from the forest-prison should instruct us. Below are some excerpts:
"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase" (Daniel 4:34, 37).
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