Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring. Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—a stranger, not your own lips.

God is the sovereign ruler over all creation. We exist in the creation that He made. Although He made us in His image and placed us in a position above all other creatures (Genesis 1:26-28), in humility, we remember that we are still subject to His divine providential control. He determines the story of creation, and He determines the story of our lives within His creation.

True humility, then, recognizes and embraces the submissive role we have on the earth. Although we may think we know what the day will bring, we can make no guarantees. As Solomon says, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps,” (Proverbs 16:9). And James warns us not to boast about tomorrow. Instead, we should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” After all, unlike the sovereign and eternal God who controls all things, our lives are “like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone,” (James 4:14-15).

The true humility also knows that boasting about one’s accomplishments is illegitimate for the one who has received everything from God. Although there may be occasions when public acknowledgment of one’s accomplishments is appropriate, gratuitous boasting has no place in God’s kingdom. We are dependent creatures. We are dependent upon God for everything we have and everything we are. Instead of boasting about ourselves, then, we should boast about God (2 Corinthians 10:17).

Paul says, “When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them,” (2 Corinthians 10:18). One of the ways that the Lord can do this is by having others praise us. And in heaven, of course, the Lord Himself will do the job personally (1 Corinthians 4:5).

We don’t have to brag about tomorrow or praise ourselves. God can see to it that we get the acknowledgement and the encouragement we need.