26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

If we could attain salvation ourselves, we wouldn’t need God. We are self-absorbed and arrogant as it is. Can you imagine what it would be like if our salvation came from us? That’s the point, isn’t it? We can’t do it on our own. We need help, desperately.

Without remembering what the conclusion of this chapter would be, I’ve been proving Paul’s point all along. God doesn’t “need” the rich and famous (and sometimes infamous) to spread the Gospel. He uses us. Intentionally. He has shown He can use animals, evil men, and nature to move men, but He chooses us. I used to think we were part of His plan, but that’s too generic. We are His plan. I don’t think that point can be overstated.

The paradox then is we’re His plan, but we shouldn’t boast about it. We are His eyes, ears, voices, arms, and legs, but we’re just that: instruments for Him to shine through.

So, if you’re going to boast, don’t waste it on bragging about all the talents you have, but on Him. He recognizes what you have and do. He wants to be glorified through you.