By now you have probably heard of the Backdoor Brag. If you haven’t, the premise is simple. Backdoor Bragging involves saying something great about yourself in a roundabout way. For example:
“I hate how intimidated people get when they see my muscular biceps.”
It’s simple. Letting people know how awesome you are, without doing the whole pride thing. You might even call this a “humble brag.”
Just from the description, I think it’s pretty easy to see how the Backdoor Brag can be attractive to followers of Jesus. After all, we know that pride goes before destruction. The only problem is, the Backdoor Brag can often come across as somewhat forward and well, not very spiritual. That’s why many Christians have taken this idea to the next level with what I call the “Backdoor Brag Praise Report.”
Imagine this. You’re sitting in a small group with your friends and you really want to tell them that your blog about Taylor Swift’s love life was shared twenty-four times. Awesome idea, but how do you do it without sounding self-centered?
Backdoor Brag Praise Report.
“I just want to take this opportunity and thank God for allowing my blog to influence the lives of twenty-four people who decided to share my message with others.”
Boom. You just got the word out while still being humble. And when it comes to humility, we Christians need to be the best at it.
The Backdoor Brag Prayer Request can work in almost any situation. A pretty girl gave you her digits?
“I want to thank God for giving me the self-control not to call that beautiful woman who handed me her number today. I knew in my heart she wasn’t future-spouse material.”
Got your new MasterCard in the mail and went on a shopping spree?
“Before we close this Bible study, I need to give credit to the person that just helped me build credit…”
The Backdoor Brag Praise Report is foolproof. What’s someone going to say? “Hey! You can’t praise Jesus for the good things happening in your life!” No. Even if a few of your accountability partners start to catch on, there’s nothing they can do about it. Why? Because they know James 1:17 as well as you do.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above…”
Experts who master the Backdoor Brag Praise Report will often move on to a more advanced stage. The Backdoor Brag Prayer Request.
“Can you please pray for my sunburn? I was relaxing by our new swimming pool yesterday and accidentally fell asleep.”
If praise reports are brag camouflage, prayer requests have to be the Duck Dynasty of pride. This is probably the fastest way to get your achievements in the church bulletin and weekly email chain. Plus, who wouldn’t want a group of elderly women in your congregation praying about how great you are?
So the next time you’ve done something awesome, don’t be afraid to speak up. Just remember to give God all of the credit.
Are you guilty of the Backdoor Brag Praise Report or Prayer Request? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
Wade’s Wisdom is a regular column by Wade Bearden. Here he shares his wisdom, knowledge, and intricate understanding of life to readers all over the world. Like this piece? You’ll probably enjoy these too:
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