"WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT YOU DID NOT RECEIVE?"

Have you ever thought long and hard about the circumstances that surround your life—the circumstances that have brought you to where you are in life?  Many of us take most of the credit for our successes.  We like to think of ourselves as “self-made” men and women.  Paul asks an excellent question in 1 Corinthians 4:7 to those with this mentality. 

He says,

What do you have that you did not receive? 

That’s an excellent question, isn’t it?  Think about it. What do you have that you didn’t get from someone else?  For example, “Did you have a say in when and where you were born?”  Now some will respond by saying, “No, but man once I got here, I had a lot of say about where I am now.  I’m a self-made man or woman—I’ve made my own success.” 

Think about this.  Do you think Mark Zuckerburg, founder of facebook, would have still made billions of dollars if he were born in the 17^th century?  Or do you think Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, would have made the money he did in life were he born in the middle of an aboriginal tribe in New Guinea?  

 

Who decided you’d be here?  Who put you here?  Who preserved your life to adulthood and who made sure that your abilities continued till you got to college and became something?  Well, individuals were involved, right—people like your parents, family, friends and teachers? But the Scriptures are also clear that all we are and all we have has been given to us by God. 

 

James says in James 1:17,

⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.

 

Paul reiterates James’ point here in 1 Corinthians 4 to make the point to the Corinthians that who they are, what they know and what they have accomplished in life has ultimately been brought about by God; therefore, there is no room for pride—no room for boasting.