Is God Tolerant? Or does He wants us to be Tolerant?

Question: Is God Tolerant?

First of all I want to say, I am not entirely set on the answer to this so I wanted to explore it more. The Bible references tolerance only 6 times in the KJV translation. However, it is not an instruction set of how to be tolerant, but as an example that explains how tolerant God would be to people who act a certain way at the judgement. 

Luke 10:12 - "I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sedom than for that city."

Luke 10:14 - "But it will be more tolerable for Tzor and Tzidon in the judgment than for you." 

Matthew 10:15 - "Most assuredly I tell you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sedom and `Amorah in the day of judgment than for that city."

Matthew 11:22 - "But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tzor and Tzidon in the day of judgment than for you."

Matthew 11:24 - "But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sedom, in the day of judgment, than for you."

Mark 6:11 - "Whoever will not receive you nor hear you, as you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony against them. Assuredly, I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sedom and `Amorah in the day of judgment than for that city!"

Each of these verses represent Jesus telling his disciples, that when He sends them out to these different cities, that those who are there and hear their teachings, yet they do not listen will not be tolerated during the judgement. 

Tolerate defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is 
1. 

    a. to allow to be or to be done without prohibition, hindrance, or contradiction

    b. to put up with

2.

    a. to endure or resist the action of (something, such as a drug or food) without serious side effects or discomfort

With the understanding of these definitions, then we can see that God, will Allow them to be until judgement, at which point He will not be as lenient. He will not hinder them, or prohibit them, or contradict their actions, until judgement. He will endure what they are doing. 

But, He will exact judgement on them for their lack of acceptance, or Belief in who God is and how their actions are contradictory to what He wants from them. 

From this I would say God has Tolerance, but only to a point, which means, His tolerance is of no consequence to Him, but it will have consequences when it comes to His judgement. 

Answer: God is Tolerant for now.

Question: Does God want us to be tolerant?

I have to say absolutely without a doubt He does want us to be tolerant. God is abundantly accepting of everyone, He will not turn any away, if they turn to Him. God accepts everyone, when they turn to Him, Believe in Him, accept Him as Lord and Savior, and through faith believe in His death on the cross as atonement for our sins, and His resurrection. The main elements that prove He wants us to be tolerant are in multiple verses that do not specifically say "be tolerant" but, imply that we as Christians should be tolerant and accepting of all people. 

Matthew 7:1 - "Judge not, that ye be not judged." - I reference this verse because it tells us specifically to not judge others in ways that we ourselves can be judged. If we couple this verse with the previous verses we can see that we, as a people, do not need to worry about judgement, since we all will be judged, and it is something He will take care of. 

Romans 14:4 - "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." - I reference this as a supporting verse that confirms that God will be the ultimate judge. 

I use these following verse as the directives that Jesus has provided for how we are to tolerate others, no matter their offense. 

Matthew 5:44 - " But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

This verse is possibly the most simple to understand and yet the hardest to accomplish. It saysin the simplest of ways, if someone is your enemy, then  love them still.

There are some main definitions that say what an enemy is but without copying again the Merriam-Webster definitions I will just say that it gives us an understanding of how someone would become an enemy, they are potentially antagonistic, dangerous, harmful, a military adversary or are hostile. Each of these could cause someone to become another's enemy. I am sure there are other things and in today's day an age, just being a different political party, or saying certain things can categorize someone into one of these definitions. 

But, to radically treat them differently as Jesus suggests and to "LOVE" them. In the Bible it is not just love but "Agape" love which would be even more radical than, to just tolerate someone, but, given that this is the direction given to us, it means that we should love those who would have differeing opinions of us, because after all isn't an opinion or a simple action of someone that we may not accept a much lower offense than something an actual enemy would do?

Answer: Yes, God wants us to be tolerant. 

The bottom line, God will tolerate sin, because he is indifferent to it, until the day of judgement, then those people who used their free will to do as they please will be held to answer for their actions. God wants us to be tolerant because He is the ultimate judge and for us, we need to be tolerant because it is a good thing and shows that we are not someone else's judge, but we should keep our own lives straight and let God worry about judgement when the time comes. 

Remember being Tolerant, is not the same as acceptance. Tolerance is the act of putting up with something that we do not accept. 

Is Jealousy a Sin? Make it Strengthen your Faith, change it!

 When we think about Jealousy as related to Prayer, we can begin to see how it can be sinful, and is related to envy and covetousness. Many the world presents "7 deadly sins", however, biblically speaking there are many sins, and none in the Bible are actually called "deadly" nor are the referred to specifically as "The Seven Deadly Sins" 

Proverb 6:16-19 describes 6 sins that are an "abomination" to God

"These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."

Also Sins are deadly, and actually are the cause of death which the Bible does scripturally support. 

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And if we look for lists of Sin in the Bible we can find many but those that are related to Jealousy we find these. 

Romans 1:29-32 "29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." 

I highlighted "covetousness" because it relates to jealousy, and I highlighted "unloving" because it is the opposite of envy, love is a virtue which is anti-envious. 

Galatians 5:19-21 "19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

I highlighted "jealousies" for obvious reasons but, also "envy" as it relates to jealousy. If we review the difference between each we can see that envy is when you want something someone has, and jealousy is when you feel someone is trying to take something you have. The reason for these to be correlated is because sometimes envy, is the result of jealousy, because what someone has, is sometimes believed to be something you should have had. You wanted it, they got it, so not only do they have it and you want it but they have it and YOU should have gotten it to you think they took it from you. 

Now, to the reason it is not only a Sin but also a very evil way of thinking of something and a way to blaspheme God in the process. Prayer. 

Imagine that you are neighbors with someone, you know that they are going through something tough, or are having financial struggles, or are going through some trial, or trouble. You as a good Christian are praying and you pray for them to come through their trouble, you pray.

God, please help my neighbor with the struggle that they are going through, I pray that Your will be done in their lives, that You help them through this trouble and You send your Holy Spirit to show them the way and the truth of Your will. 

The struggle is God does is asked, God makes things right, God hears your prayers and answers them. rather than be happy for your neighbor, and happy that God's will was done, you are jealous, envious, covetous. Why? If you truly prayed for them, and you truly wanted God to intercede for them you should NEVER be jealous, or envious, or covetous. What you should do is praise God for what he has done. You should be happy, joyous, thankful, knowing that your faith and God's good grace has been shown. The faith you had in God to pray, was answered and demonstrated. 

Don't let your faith be weakened by praying and then being upset because good things happen, Pray, Listen to what God wants, and then be thankful and faithful that God will answer those prayers. When he does, hold it up as an example of his awesome and unending power. Let the success of others that you have prayed for be a source of strengthening your faith. God is Good! 

How do we Pray? (PRAY/LISTEN)

Have you ever sit down to pray, or laid down at night and you close your eyes and you are about to go to sleep and you start to pray and then, blankness, nothing comes to mind? In my daily prayers I sometimes struggle with how to pray. I think of a few things a few people that come to mind and then my mind seems to go blank. However this is when I need help. The good thing is Jesus sent us a Helper. 

John 14 is a great place to draw inspiration. Because it contains the message of the greatest inspirer, the Holy Spirit! He who indwells in all believers, He who Jesus sent to us from the Father to intercede, provide comfort, to compel and guide us. He is our Helper. 

John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—"

John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

John 14:18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."

John tells us that the Holy Spirit will be our guide. 

John 16"13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

During a recent Bible Study on the Holy Spirit, there was a section on Praying and while reading through it and thinking on the guidance is was providing it hit me that there are a lot of people that struggle with praying, not just when we are sitting around the dinner table, but with their own prayers at night. 

The section provided some scriptural references and examples but, the basics of it were to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and help. "If you want to receive the Holy Spirit's help in prayer, all you need to do is ask for it."

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 "But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."

I would also add 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God."

Charles F. Stanley tells us. "First, the Holy Spirit understands the situations we are facing. Second, the Holy Spirit understands your needs within the situation." And. "Third, the Holy Spirit understands the Plan of God." These words really resonated within me as I studied, they gave me a deep understanding that I do not have to be alone when I pray, and I don't need to know everything that I should say. It also brought to remembrance what Jesus said about praying and what NOT to do while praying. 

Matthew 6:7-8 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words."

with all this guidance and scripture to point us in the right direction I think all of this combines into what Charles Stanley said in a lengthy set of instructions. but it comes down to a simplified set of instructions which is; PRAY and LISTEN. 

PRAY, pray for the things you remember when you start, pray for the things that are in your mind. 

BUT THEN, 

LISTEN, stop when you feel you have prayed for all you can think of or remember, Stop, be silent and listen, listen for more, listen for additional things, words thoughts. When you are quiet focused on God, focused on the good that God is, you can hear what he says. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, He will give you more. in the quiet is when GOD WILL SPEAK TO YOU. The Holy Spirit will add to you the things that are of God, God's will God's plan. Those things you remember, those thoughts that you think are from you are not, they are the manifested will of God given to you from the Holy Spirit as guidance to you. The direct words of God, "... freely given to us by God."

PRAY --- LISTEN!

Does God condone immoral actions?

 God's Morality

I am certainly not capable of truly contemplating God's Morality, however many people do and they do it in the form of questions which in many cases are the foundation of their unbelief. Some of the

Questions look like this. 

If God is Good, then why does he allow bad things to Happen?

If God is good why does Evil exist?

If God is so loving then why did he command people to be killed?

If God is Merciful, then  why did he kill everyone on the planet with a flood?

If God is Good why does he condone slavery?

If God is good then why do his laws seem immoral?

These are just a few questions that I have personally heard, some have personally been asked of me and have prompted me to want to attempt to answer these questions. I have said in some of my previous writings that of course I have presuppositions when providing my research, however I attempt to always provide accepted application of exegetical and hermeneutical concepts to my answers and interpretation of scriptures, and Biblical writings. 

I am not going to try to answer each of these Questions individually because most relate to the concept that God allows Evil and his actions and laws support that concept. I take the opposite stance and will provide my scriptural evidence to support my stance. 

During a recent outreach ministry with our church, I ran into an individual who really wanted to speak about things and professed immediately that he didn't believe. I asked him why and his answer was ( I am paraphrasing in quotes.) "I find it hard to believe that God would command someone to cutoff a women's hand just for touching a man's genitals, especially if it was in defense of her husband." Our conversation proceeded and he touched on many subjects, like war, and evolutionary probability and a few other elements and he professed that he was a recovering Alcoholic and that his Girlfriend's name was Iliana (which meant God's Answer), that he was in multiple car accidents, etc... His Girlfriend had told him that God was watching over him and protecting him but he wasn't having any of it. We left him and told him that Saul was an educated individual and still didn't believe but at some point in his life God will show him his truth and he will come to know the Lord. 

This interaction spurred me to write this post. Does God Condone Immoral Actions? I looked up the verse he was referencing and it is Deuteronomy 25:11-12 - "11 If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her."  This is one of the laws that are written in the Bible and come in a series of laws that come before and after the verse. This would be one of the things to help determine the context and meaning of this specific verse. 

Context is a helpful way to determine meaning and support interpretation. In context the beginning of the previous law starts around Deuteronomy 25:5 - "“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her." The other verses after this 6-10 relate to the different elements of this law which could be considered factors that assist in furthering defining the base element of the law. 

I want to step outside of interpretation to point out how laws were handled during this timeframe which would included the ancient Hebrews and their interaction with judges and judgement. Some of this reference is from a Tulane Law School writing from May. 2017 which considered "Law in the Ancient World" which indicates a typical law basis concept of "...previous cases and judicial opinions determine how new cases are resolved". The significance of this is that laws were written, perhaps initially without a specific case identified, but written as scenarios, which when reviewed would allow the judicial body to make comparative decisions and judgements based on what the similarities were in the actual offense and the offense as described in the written law. This then would be the basis for judgement and would begin building additional "previous" cases which could then be used to determine future offenses in similar fashion. This type of Law administration was practiced across Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, Greece and China. 

Now if we go back to the verse and context you can start to see that we have two laws and if they are simplified to say what the law the first in general is about a Man dying with no heir and the wife is to be married to the next brother in the family in order to carry on the family name. The second is that a Woman who is a wife, should not grab another man's genitals in order to defend her husband, since this would potentially damage the carrying on of the family name. In context these two laws relate to the lineage and propagation of the family and the ancestral family name. Now lets look at the verse following these. 

The next law or verse is Deuteronomy 25:13 - "“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light." This law is an indication of fairness and to have proper, accurate weights and measures. The typical interpretation is that when dealing with transactions things should be done honestly or fairly. Does this relate to the above? It could be considered such, in the thought that someone who is already fighting someone now has another assailant, that is now, however justified it might be to protect her husband, the manner in which it is accomplished is not necessarily fair fighting. The idea then would be this based on context. 

1. There is a fight happening.

2. There is a wife who decides to act on behalf of her husband.

3. There is a potential unfair action by the wife. 

All of these combined seem to make it that there is an issue against a family lineage, and an unfair action in the fight which has two implications. One, the action by the wife could impact the mans potential to bear children and causes an impact to the mans lineage. Two, the action is done in an unfair manner. 

Therefore we now fall into the level of punishment. Is the punishment just? To answer this we need to look at how punishment was handled in the Bible and in general in the Ancient world. Two concepts come to light. 

    One, which is Biblical which is an Eye for an Eye. Exodus 21:23-25 "23 But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." The Biblical support for like punishment is set in the earliest understanding of law and punishment in the Bible. 

    Two, is Talion, or in Latin "Lex Talionis" which is an early Babylonian concept which is also found in ancient Roman Law. Typically identified by the Latin representation and defined as, criminals should receive as punishment precisely those injuries and damages they had inflicted upon their victims. What this typically would require was, a person who caused injury, the punishment would be imposed upon the offending appendage. Meaning if the Hand caused the injury then the Hand would receive the punishment.  

Given this understanding, the Law is imposing punishment according to the understanding of how laws and punishment were enacted. The Idea then from those who are questioning the Biblical aspect of Laws and Punishment and then implying that they are now imposing a certain morality that comes from God are implying that God's Morals are in question because he is stating that immoral things should not be done. When in actuality, God and the Bible are stating emphatically that what is Morally wrong should be punished, and this one particular law should not be outside of that concept but should also be included to be reviewed in that manner and as such falls into the resulting punishment which would be immoral actions should receive punishment. 

Therefore from a resulting immoral action individuals should be punished appropriately and as was originally stated, there is the concept of "Eye for an Eye". As one can see the concept of this specific Law is very focused, however, when looked at it from the perspective of how Laws, Punishment, aligned with what God has put forth from a Moral perspective it does not indicate immorality but a standardized moral response. God has Moral Standards and those are what the Laws are based upon. 

If you Look at the above Questions with the Idea that God has Moral Standards you can see that it answers many of these. 

If God is so loving then why did he command people to be killed? (God did not command this he commanded adherence to Moral Standards)

If God is Merciful, then  why did he kill everyone on the planet with a flood? (God, punished those that did not adhere to his Moral Standards)

If God is Good why does he condone slavery? (God does not condone Slavery he demands a Moral Standard in how someone who puts themselves into indentured servitude)(This is also another idea that should be fully explored)

If God is good then why do his laws seem immoral? (God's Moral Standards exist and therefore, seemingly may be at odds of modern worldly morals)

There are two Questions that were not answered. 

If God is Good, then why does he allow bad things to Happen?

If God is good why does Evil exist?

These while not specifically addressed in this writing are easily understood within the concepts of Free Will and how man, creates evil through his actions which are not in alignment with God's Moral Standards. Additionally, Bad things happening are not something that God allows to happen, but are part of the aspects of the world and have purpose unto themselves which we may or may not be aware of the purpose. (this also is a topic for further exploration)

The Law of Entropy? from God!

 ENTROPY - The second law of thermodynamics states that

“in all energy exchanges if no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state.”

“in all energy exchanges if no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state.”

was developed and formulated by several scientists over time, and its principles evolved as our understanding of thermodynamics advanced. The second law of thermodynamics is primarily associated with three key figures in the history of science:

Sadi Carnot (1796-1832): Sadi Carnot, a French engineer, is often credited with laying the groundwork for the second law of thermodynamics. 

Rudolf Clausius (1822-1888): The German physicist Rudolf Clausius is known for formulating the second law of thermodynamics in the mid-19th century. 

Lord Kelvin (William Thomson, 1824-1907): The British physicist Lord Kelvin made important contributions to the second law of thermodynamics as well. 

The second law of thermodynamics is a fundamental principle in the field of thermodynamics and plays a crucial role in understanding energy transfer, heat engines, and the direction of natural processes. It has been refined and restated by various scientists over the years, but the foundational concepts were developed by the individuals mentioned above.

So what does this mean? in the most basic of terms, It means that there is a natural tendency to move towards decay. If no Energy is added things move to disorder. 

Ok, so what? This means that things do not typically get better unless there is something external applied, some sort of energy or input. This means that is something is developed, in order for it to get better something has to be applied to it, in most cases this is energy. If you apply this concept opposite the theory of Evolution you have conflicting situations. Evolutionary theory, states that as things progress through time they get better. But the contrary Law is that as things progress through time they slowly get worse. Given that there is no external input (the concept that there is no creator), then things will get worse (the second law of Thermodynamics)

But now onto something else, did these above named Scientists create this Law? NO. NO Scientist has ever created a law of Nature. What happened is that these Scientists put together observed elements of scientific study and they brought to light the natural law. 

As we can see from GENESIS 3:19 God, describes the Second Law of Thermocynamics. 

"in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."  

- Genesis 3:19

God, in His divine design, ordained that when entities come into existence, they will endure for a time and eventually undergo a process of deterioration, returning to a state of dust. Just as God is credited with the creation of the entire universe, He established the second law of thermodynamics as part of the natural order. 

The Word of God is Truth!

 The statement that God's Word is truth is exemplified in the Bible. The Bible being the inspired Word of God, written by his prophets and the men of God who witnessed events and documented historical elements that have been verified in other sources outside of the Bible and through a science of verifying and proving the accuracy and reliability of ancient texts. This science is Textual Criticism and the Bible is probably one of the most scrutinized of the ancient writings and many people have tried to find fault, find contradiction, or find proof of falsified information contained therein. And to date none have been able to successfully do any of these things, there are definitely articles that have been written refuting it, and there have been books, blogs, and other writings, and even many ramblings of an atheist or agnostic, however many of these do not stand up to serious consideration and many are influenced by those who read them and "want" them to be true, but with deep study and research most will be shown to not hold up to any arguments put towards the claims made. 

I am presenting here that there is another book that is outside of the Bible which can be added to the list of sources that verify the truth of the Bible and the contents therein. The Quran. 

I know this is an unlikely source to say look here for proof of the Bible's truth, but there is a Command within the 5th Sura in the Quran, that says. 

[5:46] And in their footsteps We sent Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and conformation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah. [5:47] Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah has revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel. [Emphasis mine.]

What exactly does this say, the good thing is it does not need much interpretation, the Quran is a guide to the followers of Islam of how to live their lives. In this specific source it tells the people of Muslim faith to a "Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein." The two things I will point out in this statement are this. 

1. Allah is God, He is the same God of  both the Jewish and Christian faiths. 

2. "The People of the Gospel", are the people who follow the Gospel, those people are typically called Christians. 

This is amazing, because it gives Muslims the guidance to let Christians follow the Gospel, and in the previous section 5:46 it reaffirms the other elements of the Bible that were contained in the previous writings of the Bible. Additionally, it specifically is stated that it is "guidance and an admonition". 

What is important about this section. It means that as a Christian, I do not need to be concerned about what the Quran says because it says that even the Muslims are not to interfere in what we as Christians believe as presented in the Gospels. The real question for me as a Christian is this.

QUESTION: is the Quran True?

I believe the following explains my answers to this Question. 

If the answer is YES, then that means that the truth in the Quran is that Christians are to be guided by the Gospels and what is written in them, as was revealed by God. 

If the answer is NO, then it is of no concern one way or another. 

However ultimately as a Christian the words of the Quran are irrelevant because of the above answers. 

1. It is Irrelevant because the Quran is true and therefore Christians should follow the Gospels. Which in turn means that the Quran should not be used by Christians to determine the truth of God. 

2. It is Irrelevant because the Quran is NOT true therefore Christians should follow the the Gospel because it is true.

Can you Boast, a Little?

 There are many things in life that are good things, good things that many people have great pride in and have a desire to boast or promote themselves. The issue being that there are some directions given by the Bible that help us to understand when it is appropriate, or if it is appropriate at all. 

"16 I say again, let no one think me a fool. If otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, that I also may boast a little. 17 What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. 18 Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast. 19 For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise! 20 For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face. 21 To our shame I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also."

- II Corinthians 11:16-21

The grace of God has been given to each of us, it is a gift, freely given and not earned through any works. 

"9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

- Ephesians 2:9-10

These two verses are given to help us to understand two things; 1. Grace is given to us, and we as sinners will boast but we should not boast of any good works that we believed earned us God's Grace. 2. We can be proud of the accomplishments that God has put in front of us and helped us to achieve, which exemplify our struggle to live up to being worthy of the grace given us. All Accomplishments are the result of the skills, knowledge and drive given us by God. 

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 

- II Timothy 2:15

Pride places us in opposition to Jesus, whose flawless character He succinctly described with these words: 

"I am gentle and humble of heart"

- Matthew 11:29 

C. S. Lewis astutely noted, God desires not only that we do good works but that we excel in doing good work. Regrettably, in many churches, we have conflated sinful pride regarding ourselves with godly pride in the work we are called to undertake. This confusion has led many churches to tolerate mediocrity, fearing that the pursuit of excellence might lead to sinful pride.

The proper equilibrium, as demonstrated by our Lord, lies in producing the finest work possible while acknowledging it as a "sign" (as described in John's gospel) of the imminent arrival of God's kingdom. Outstanding work serves as an indicator pointing towards God because it reflects the inherent goodness and abundant excellence of God's kingdom. While Joe Namath's theological acumen may have been lacking when he remarked, "It's not bragging if you can do it," the reality is that it isn't boasting when we attribute the credit to God—not only in public but within the depths of our hearts. Achieving excellence doesn't grant us bragging privileges over other vintners, or in other professions such as teaching, artistry, medicine, or any field where we apply our skills. Instead, we should heed St. Paul's instruction: "let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." We have cause to take pride in our endeavors within the noble calling of our daily work, all while maintaining humility, recognizing that it is God 

"who works in us both to will and to work" 

- Philippians 2:13

I myself give all Glory and Honor to God, his wonderful countenance and blessing that he has put upon my path have been on display and I hope to ensure that my own light is not hidden. 

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." 

- Matthew 5:16