Romans 12:3 and The Church

     For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
(Romans 12:3 ESV)

     In October of 2012, my wife Halley and I received a momentous blessing; our son Solomon was born. As I pen this blog post, Solomon is just three months old which means my parenting experience is new and replete with opportunities to learn. However, I can testify that my love for my wife and son has grown exponentially since his arrival. 

     This past Sunday during a morning study, our pastor presented Romans 12:3 to the class, and as I read and thought about the verse, I thought to myself, "Are there people in my life I love enough to think of before I think of myself?" Immediately, Halley and Solomon came to mind. My love has grown for them, and I would gladly give up all my pleasures in this life (or my life's blood) for the preservation of their well being and safety.     

     Sadly, I say I that lack this same type of love for the members of my church. Perhaps the problem is I love myself too much. The truth of the matter rests in the following verses:      

     

     So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  
(Philippians 2:1-11 ESV)

I would like you to ask yourself the same question I asked myself when I read Romans 12:3; Is there anyone in your life you love enough to think of before you think of yourself? Let's ask ourselves another question: What would the church look like if all its members loved each other enough to think more highly of others than themselves? I believe "having this mind" amongst ourselves would produce:

• Humility- The essence of this biblical concept is humility. If we as church members sought to decrease our own name, glory, and desires to see other's needs met, this would ultimately lead to the glorification of Jesus Christ in the church and in the world!
• Accountability- Humility and love are essential to accountability. I would find it more difficult to have my brother in Christ listen to my entreaty, rebuke, or encouragement if his indwelling pride bristled me before he had the chance to consider the truth of the Word. I might also succumb to the dangers of saying a harsh word to my brother out of anger or pride. The most dangerous pitfall of all (which is plaguing many Christians in our area) is not possessing the love required to rebuke a brother or sister in sin and thus leaving them to walk through a season of their life blind to the plank in thier eye. 
• When humility and accountability are thriving in the body of Christ, unity is soon to come. If I am more concerned about my brother's needs than my own, and he is more concerned about my needs than his own, each member of the body is taking care of the other members of the body. What an amazing witness to the world a church like this could be! When we let go of the sin of selfish that eats away at us like a cancer, we are following the biblical mandate established for us by Christ, just as it says in Philippians 2. When people begin to stop scratching for their own itches, drama in the church will all but disappear. 

     I encourage each of us to look to Christ's example and strive to be like Him. I confess to you how often I fail at humbling myself in this way. It's not easy, and the only way we can be successful is by looking to Christ's example and trusting in the Holy Spirit's power to sanctify us. If we rely on our own power, humility will become an idol for us and we will be in danger of placing our trust in our works instead of Christ's finished work on the cross.

     If we look to the Gospel and see Christ's example of humility, we find the proper motivation to be the church God has destined us to be.