When do we go overboard with posting pictures or comments about ourselves and become braggarts? How much sharing about myself, my family, and my interests is too much? When do people looking at my timeline start saying, “Wow, this guy really loves himself.” Or, “This guy is his own #1 fan!” I’m not sure there is a hard line to cross, but we all know when someone has crossed it.
Maybe you’re saying, “What’s the big deal about bragging?” I mean, it’s not bragging if it’s true, right? If I really am that good, then I’m just telling the truth. Maybe so but you’re alienating friends in the process. You also can appear insecure like you are trolling for compliments.
So here is the next rule in the series:
Rule #4: Thou shalt praise others and let others praise you
Proverbs 27:2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—a stranger, not your own lips.
The Bible actually has a lot more to say about the source of bragging. Bragging is really a symptom of a much deeper and more dangerous problem – PRIDE.
What is pride? Pride is excessive love of one’s own abilities, traits, or characteristics. The key word is EXCESSIVE. Pride is my distorted view of myself. Others clearly see through what I can’t. I see myself as Superman, but others find me obnoxious. Pride turns normal self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-respect and distorts it into excessive self-preoccupation, selfishness, arrogance, and conceit. One of the most obvious fruits of pride is bragging – expressed by excessively talking about my accomplishments and abilities.
Pride in our hearts brings bragging out of our mouths. Pride damages our relationship with God by failing to recognize the true source of everything good in our life. Bragging alienates us from our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors.
When you brag on FB you turn people off or worse they view you as insecure and immature. Our posts are truly a reflection of our hearts. So instead of seeking praise from others on FB, what if you logged into FB looking for people to affirm and praise?
New Rules of Facebook #1
New Rules of Facebook #2
New Rules of Facebook #3
New Rules of Facebook #5
