Verse of the day: Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to
everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a
measure of faith.
One of the
most discouraging things we can do in serving God is to compare ourselves to
other Christians; and one of the most destructive things we can do is think
that because God has given us one or many talents, abilities, or gifts, that we
are better than other Christians. There are Christians who do not serve God because
they have observed what other Christians are doing and have decided that they
could never do the same. This may be true, but did you ever just stop and ask
yourself if that was what God wanted you to do? The warning here, first and
foremost, is not to think more of ourselves than we should since all that we
are capable of was made possible by God Himself. He is the One who has given us
a measure of grace and faith to carry out what He wants to accomplish through
us, based on the talents, abilities, and gifts, He has chosen to give us (v.
6). We who are born again are all part of the Body of Christ. We all fit
together just right with our differing talents, abilities, and gifts. Because
we differ, it is dangerous to compare our talents and abilities to other
Christians. The fact of the matter is that we should keep our eyes on Jesus who
is our only true Measure. Before the Apostle pens this verse, he implores with
us to not be conformed to this world and the way it thinks. Rome, during that
time, drew personal status from wealth, status in society, titles, and other
worldly measures. The Apostle was here warning them against bringing that
mindset into the church. Sadly, this still exists today, even within the
church. Some have the ability to preach, teach, sing, lead, and do things that
some of us cannot do. Some have the ability to interpret and draw application
from the Scripture more readily than others. Some can explain and defend the
Scriptures with seemingly little trouble. Where do these abilities come from?
They come from God (v. 6). The problem that occurs in many local churches, and
within Christianity, is that too many Christians forget that what they are
capable of doing and accomplishing originates with God, and it is by His grace
that we are able to do what we do. Just because we may hold a title within the
local church does not make us better than those who do not. Therefore, what
have we to boast about other than Jesus? Pride is a very dangerous thing in
Christianity. It was the Satan’s downfall, and he loves to use it to cause
division within the body, destroy ministries, and cause the unsaved to
criticize Christianity because of Christians who are less than humble in their
approach to serving God and others (Pro 16:18). Holding a particular office or
title is not a measure of who we are in Christ. It is humble, righteous living,
and godly character that should define who we are in Christ. Whether God
chooses to give us talents, abilities, or gifts, that allow Him to use us in
the forefront and limelight for His glory, or behind the scenes where no one
sees us, does not make one or the other better in the eyes of God. Both are
serving God, and whatever we are called to, we are to do faithfully, in
accordance to God’s will and plan for our lives. The bottom line is that it is
about Jesus and His glory, and not about us. In John 3:30, John the Baptist
said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This is still what it is all
about today. If people see more of us than they do of Jesus, then we are doing
it wrong. By the same token, when we compare ourselves to those whom God has
chosen to endow with more talents and abilities, and we shrink away and begin
to feel inferior, remember this…God makes no mistakes in how He has created
each and every one of us. Each of us was fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps
139:14). That means that He has created each of us exactly the way He needs us
to be in order to use us to accomplish exactly what He has already decided,
even before we were conceived (Jer 1:5; Gal 1:15; 2 Tim 1:9). In Christ, we are
all valuable, and He has a plan for each and every one of us. If we are not
using our talents, abilities, and gifts to serve God, because we think little of
who God created us to be, then somewhere there is a local church that is
lacking something because one of its body parts is either missing or not
functioning to its full potential. Let us put our pride aside, and be mindful
of the fact that regardless of how the world measures our abilities, a little
can be great when put in the Lord’s hands. Do not rob God and others of the
blessings He has in store because we refuse to use our talents for His glory.
Let us not discourage others by looking down on them because God has blessed us
with more. We must serve Him in humility, using our talents, abilities, and
gifts, to their full potential, and humbly giving Him all the glory.
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