Posts Tagged: Psalm 37:3

“Boasting about the Future and The Future of Boasting”

On August 13, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” (A quote attributed to many different folks including Niels Bohr and Yogi Berra.)

“Prov. 27:1 ¶ Do not boast about tomorrow,

                        for you do not know what a day may bring.” (English Standard Version)

There is no future in boasting about the future. Why? The author of Proverbs 27:1 makes explicit what most of us know but often ignore. And what is that? None of us knows anything about the future—personally or collectively. We may guess and hypothesize, but we all need to be radically agnostic about the future. And how can we boast about something when we are so horribly ignorant about it? The short answer is we can’t! Or, at least, we shouldn’t.

Derek Kidner comments on Proverbs 27:1, “James 4:13–16 enlarges on this, and Matthew 6:34 (19–34) on the companion sin of worry. Both are rectified by an embracing of the present will of God: cf. Psalm 37:3.”

And what does Psalm 37:3 say? Glad that you asked!

“Psa. 37:3 ¶    Trust in the LORD, and do good;

                        dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.”

Embracing the present will of God is the best way to prepare for a good future. Neither boasting about the future nor worrying about it will change it or prepare us to meet it. But embracing the present will of God for us is the best way to have a good present and an optimal future.

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