By David ReayTuesday 9 Jan 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read Romans 12:3
3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (NLT)
No one likes show-offs. Those who noisily let us know how good or brave or faithful or clever they are. In this passage, Paul warns against being big-headed. He is not into the shallow pop psychology which is all about feeling good and believing the world revolves around you.
And yet, he does say a couple of things that warn us against going to the other extreme. He says we are to honestly evaluate ourselves in the light of our faith. When we do this, we will neither succumb to egotism nor self-abasement. It is simply not honest to think you are the greatest or to think you are the worst.
When Paul speaks of ‘faith’, he is not talking about how much faith we reckon we have or don’t have. That would mean those who have more faith would feel superior to those who had less faith. And besides, measuring faith in terms of quantity is not helpful. It is the object of our faith that matters rather than how much faith we have.
Paul is referring to the Christian faith we hold in common. That is the key to healthy self-estimation. That faith tells me I am utterly unable to please God and my natural inclination is to rebel against him and serve my own interests. It also tells me I am a created child of God, bearer of the Spirit of God, destined for life forever with God. So no cause for boasting, no cause for despair.
In short, I am much loved, but so very much in need of that love.
Blessings
David Reay