Verse of the day: Romans 12:10 Be kindly
affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to
one another;
The Apostle Paul goes on to explain what a God
honoring relationship amongst Christians looks like. He tells us that we are to
“be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love”. The word used for
kindly affectionate, according to one commentator, is used in no other place in
the New Testament. It means to have affection toward one another as between a
parent and a child. Again, this ties back to loving one another, as most
parents would lay down their lives for their children; and as Jesus has already
done for us (Jn 13:34-35). The Apostle John wrote that we cannot say that we
love God while hating our brother; for how can we love Someone we have not seen,
but hate someone who has been created in His image, and we have seen (1 Jn
4:20)? Sadly, God’s children have often failed in this area, and have given the
unsaved world the impression that we, as God’s people, cannot get along; yet,
we preach love, forgiveness, peace, and joy while putting each other down,
criticizing each other, gossiping about one another, and in too many instances
refusing to forgive and fellowship with one another. For this reason we must
not only be kindly affection in brotherly love toward each other, but we must
do it seeking honor for one another. This is contrary to how the world thinks.
The world is all about “taking care of #1”; regardless of what it takes or who
gets hurt in the process. This ought not to be so amongst God’s people. We are
supposed esteem others as being better than ourselves, without selfish ambitions,
and being careful to be mindful of the interests of other over our own
interests (Phil 2:3-4). This is where the enemy and our pride can not only
cause us to fail in carrying out God’s command, but also use our selfish pride
and ambitions to cause strife and division within God’s church (Pro 11:2;
13:10). We can be so focused on gaining honor, and respect, for ourselves, that
we begin to look down on others and put others down, being critical and
judgmental, so that we look better, and more important, than others. This can
be true even in ministry where we might seek to be in the spotlight and gain a
following, making ourselves no better than the religious people of Jesus’ day
who were often angry with Jesus because people were following Him and not them;
it was this jealousy that led them to hand Him over to be crucified (Mk 15:10).
We are to seek the honor of others, amongst God’s people, over pursuing our own
honor; for in due time, when it is appropriate, and in accordance to God’s plan
for our lives, He will exalt us if we humble ourselves (1 Pt 5:6). It may very
well be that this honoring may not come until we stand before Him to receive
the rewards He has reserved for us, for our humble service here on earth; and
that will be greater than any honor we can receive here on earth from any
person. The bottom line is that we are to avoid being wise in our own conceit
(Pro 26:12). We are to be humble, even as Jesus was humble, and submit
ourselves to one another in the fear (reverence) of God, always thinking better
of others and putting aside our own selfishness, pride, and high thoughts of
self (Eph 5:21; Phil 2:1-8). This is the kind of fellowship that the world
needs to see from us so that God is honored and the Gospel is not hindered.
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