Ricky Henderson is considered one of the best baseball players in history. After breaking Lou Brock’s Major League Baseball (MLB) record by stealing his 937th base, he addressed both Brock and the crowd by saying, “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today I am the greatest of all time.”

 Long before Henderson’s boast, fighter Muhammad Ali said, “I’m not the greatest. I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round. I’m the boldest, the prettiest, the most superior, most scientific, most skillful fighter in the ring today.”

 Romans 3 – Guard Against Pride

 It’s easy to find quotes from boasting athletes. Ali’s boasts might have been the most outrageous, but there’s no lack of pride among athletes and coaches. Paul warns against boasting when he reminds us that we can’t boast in our own righteousness (Romans 3:27).

 If we could achieve the right standing before God, we would not need Jesus’s sacrifice. King Solomon understood this idea with his proverb: “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2). Boasting and bragging about your own accomplishments only depreciates their achievements.

 The Kingdom Coach and Athlete recognize the cross bridges the gap between a perfect God and them as sinners. When He died on the cross, He took on all the sins of the world, including theirs (John 3:16). They make sure they boast in the cross and not anything else.

Journaling helps you understand and respond to the Bible. As you journal, use the acronym HEAR to Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond to what you have read in the reading plan.

Bible Memory Verse – Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen and understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20 LSB

Click HERE for the Kingdom Sports Minute on Jeremiah 9:23-24 (Boast in the Lord)