Boo yah
Yeah Baby
Whose Yo Daddy
Happy Dance
High Five
Fist Pump
We all do it- we all say and do those things. It is fun to celebrate an achievement, a good word, favor, a milestone, or a great accomplishments in our lives.
Those examples above are fun and silly ways we like to toot our own horns.
Tooting is not so much fun though when it never stops. It then crosses over into bragging.
I remember my kiddos when they were younger. My son would brag that he won at a game and his twin sister would get so furious and tell him she did not want to play with him anymore because he brags too much. Occasionally she would snark back “No One likes a bragger” ( I still can picture her crazy beautiful curls blowing and her little booty swaying side to side with her hands on her hips as she stomped away)
It may be cute for a four year old to brag and annoy their sister but for us adults, it is not so cute. It also keeps us from genuinely connecting with people.
I believe bragging is rooted in pride issues. Sometimes the feelings of being inadequate or out of control in some area of our life we will overcompensate for the inadequate parts by pretending to have it better than we usually do in other areas.
People can be addicted to approval and recognition. So they embellish the facts making things seem better than they are trying to gain approval or be recognized.
Bragging is also fueled with embellishing.
Like those fish stories where that 4lb bass turns into an 8lb bass by the time it gets told so many times.
The stories usually get bigger and bigger and the bragger usually can’t keep their stories straight.
Embellishing, Fibs and White Lies, it doesn’t matter what you call it, you can’t dress up a lie, in the end it is still a lie.
I love Mark Twain’s advice:
If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything. ~Mark Twain
When people brag and embellish they aren’t really living a true authentic life, they are usually living a lie. Operating in a false self.
In the Bible Paul tells us in Ephesians-
So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. – Ephesians 4:25 NLT
In Romans he warns-
3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
He goes on to tell us about the different giftings-
6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Romans 12:3-8NLT
And here Paul tells us-
Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
~Romans 12:16 NLT
Paul is simply saying:
We should not be telling lies (embellishing) to impress
Tell the truth
stop tooting our own horns and bragging so much
Don’t be too proud
don’t think you know it all
We are all One Body!
We are all different, unique and special to God.
We all have different Gifts that are needed to be the One Body. Life is not a competition.
Be True
We leave no room to love and connect with people if we are always trying to impress people.
Let’s save our breath by putting down the horns- stop tooting and start genuinely connecting by living a true restored life!
XXOO Michelle Bollom
Restored People Community 