how do you think of yourself?

Romans 12:3
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

This is something I talk quite a bit about, we need to remember to check ourselves, and take a good look at the image that we portray to the world. What does it say about us? What does it say about our faith? How often do you hear good “Christian” people talk about someone else, and finish by saying well they really are not my type of people? My type of people???? Just what does that imply? That there are people within the Christian faith that are not worthy to spend time with others? Often it seems that we are back in high school, and the cool kids are making the rules! We are missing the point!!

It is clear in James 2: 2-5 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Jeremiah 9:23 reads: This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches,

To sum it up, if you think you are righteous enough, then you are wrong, if you think for one second that you are better than the next you are wrong. We are all sinners, and if you find yourself closer to the Lord than the guy next to you then you might want to think about helping them, instead of pointing out their shortcomings! we should encourage, and be an insparation. As I have said many times, this life is a journey, and we are all at different points on the path at different times. We all struggle, and we all need help. We have got to break this cycle of self-adulation, and remember why we are here. Our goal is to advance the word of the Lord, to preach the good news. I will tell you from personal experience, people do not listen, nor do they want to be involved, when all you do is point out faults.

Christ encouraged people, he lit a spark in them that made people want to change their lives. HE preached the good news, without looking down his nose. HE made room in his heart for all who would listen. That is the model we should emulate. Be a lifter folks, not a leaner!

Peace,
Rev. T