The boaster!

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(John Colwell, "Little Foxes; The Little Sins That Mar the Christian Character" 1882)

"As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil!" James 4:16

All that the boaster has to say revolves around one center, namely, SELF. The only really important part of speech in his grammar, is thefirst person singular. When he speaks of himself, which he too often does, it is always in such a way as to impress you with his virtues, his wisdom, or his greatness. And when he does not speak of himself — he elevates self, though it may be in a less direct manner.

The boaster is full of little histories, in which the historian or narrator is always the chief actor. His stock phrases will be painfully familiar to us all:
  "When I was in such a place."
  "When I was a young man."
  "I will tell you what I once did."
Every one of these expressions is the introduction to a long glorification of self.

Why should we employ ourselves in self-praise? "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" 1 Corinthians 4:7

It is a hard and delicate subject for a man to speak of himself. Therefore, let him who aspires after wisdom take the advice of Scripture, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips!" Proverbs 27:2

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