II Corinthians 10:8 “For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed.”
Who Are You Building?
Have you ever met an elementary student who couldn’t wait to advance to the next grade and become (in his mind) a “big kid”? That same elementary student becomes a junior high teenager, and he can’t wait until he is sixteen years old or eighteen years old. We adults are made the same way and have the same peer pressures, ambitions, and misconceptions! Our greatest misconception is believing that the more authority we have, the bigger we are.
The truth is, the more authority you have, the more people around you should be built up. Paul said “. . . our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification. . . .” We tend to think that our authority builds us up; it should build others up. Any authority you have is God-given and is for the edification of others, not for the building of self.
It would be naïve and foolish to boast of anything that has been delegated to you. It is also foolish to compare what you have to what someone else has (verse 12). Any authority you have has been delegated to you by God. Use what you have been given to build up others instead of building up self.
“But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (II Corinthians 10:17)