Romans 12:3-5
Well it’s been a stressful couple of months, getting ready for next
Saturday’s wedding. Around our house
we’ve been redecorating the guest room for out of town family members who are
coming, refurbishing the garden, and all the other things the family of the
groom is usually involved in doing.
Still, it’s probably been more stressful for David. Just consider.
--He’s begun graduate work.
--He’s started a new job.
--He’s going to be married next Saturday.
--But those are nothing compared to this—he’s just finished trading
cars.
Okay, go ahead and laugh. Please laugh, that was supposed to be a
joke. Still, I envy the person who
doesn’t find buying a new car a stressful activity . It’s stressful and usually just a little
disappointing. Almost inevitably it’s
disappointing because you seldom get what you think your trade-in is
worth.
After all, that car or truck has taken care of you for years, you
might even have a name for it, you know it’s worth far more than the authors of
that Blue Book have to say. The truth
is, we just tend to overestimate the worth of whatever we’re driving—even if we
privately call it a rust bucket.
The language Paul uses in this passage addresses the all-too human
tendency to over estimate our value, to even think of ourselves as pretty near
indispensable.
Remember, Paul began this passage by calling his readers to a
thoughtful commitment, a commitment rooted in a new way of thinking. The remainder of the chapter defines some of
the elements of that new way of thinking.
The new way of thinking involves a new way to thinking about
ourselves.
The new way of thinking begins as we recognize ourselves as men and
women in need of grace who are dependent upon each other.
A TOUGH COMMAND THEN…AND NOW
Although Paul’s words are direct he doesn’t jump straight to
them. He precedes his directive by
announcing that he is doing so, not by any special merit he may possess but by
“the grace given me.” He might have been
an apostle but even that office was his by God’s special favor, not because of
any virtue of Paul’s. Had he not said
what he said, his next words would not have rung true. Only by acknowledging his own need for grace
could he dare to say, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” That was a tough command then; it’s a tough
command now.
Before I move on I need to make an important point. Although Paul’s words certainly are a warning
against pride, they are by no means grounds for seeing ourselves as
worthless. Williams translates, a person
must be careful “not to estimate himself above his real value.” We have ”real value” before God and our
fellow humans but we must be careful to have a healthy view of it.
We are to have a “sane estimate” of our capabilities, as one writer
says. That’s implied in the call to have
a sober judgment about ourselves. Some
our more graphic brothers and sisters in Christ might say that those with
inflated views of themselves are “touched” in the head. In doing so, they would be fully consistent
with Paul’s language.
Why did Paul address these words to the Romans? Was there some special problem with pride
there? Any answer would be speculation.
The truth is he could have written it to Christians in any church,
even our churches today. Pride is by no
means a first-century sin. As Denney
comments, “To himself, every man is in a sense the most important person in the
world, and it always needs much grace to see what other people are, and to keep
a sense of moral proportion.”
The word translated as “think” has to do with making an estimate, in
this case a self estimate. Paul is
warning against a sense of haughtiness, a know-all attitude that manifests
itself in a superiority complex.
Such persons are not simply unteachable, they are convinced they have
the only thing worth saying in the first place.
Their whole demeanor threatens a church’s fellowship. The notion of mutual ministry is foreign to
them because they can’t imagine ever needing to be ministered to.
The sad thing is such people may have real gifts, as we all do, but
their attitude makes it impossible for them to make a positive contribution to
the work of the church.
This is truly a tough command, because the attitude that prompts me
to see my contribution, my talents, my
ideas as indispensable makes it easy to succumb to a self-aggrandizing pride.
A TWOFOLD ANTIDOTE
What’s the antidote to the “I’m the king of the world” pride that is
encouraged by so many factors in our culture?
The new “sober” way of thinking about ourselves begins with an
appreciation of God’s work in our lives.
Paul says our sober-minded self-view is to be “in accordance with the
measure of faith God has given.”
But what does “measure of faith” mean? While commentators seem to agree that it
can’t refer to so-called “saving faith,” they frequently disagree on what it
does mean. Some see it as referring to
some kind of miracle-working faith, which they consider to be a charismatic
gift. Others see it as faith for service.
Both suggestions have problems.
Fortunately we don’t have to fully understand the phrase to
appreciate the central idea Paul is conveying.
Whatever might be implied by “measure of faith” it is God’s gift of
grace. As such, there is no room for
arrogance or boasting.
No matter how outwardly spectacular the exercise of a gift may be, it
is still a gift. It is not a reflection
of that person’s spiritual superiority, it is a reflection of the graciousness
of God.
If we possess valuable gifts which help the church grow, if we are
able to contribute to the building of
the Kingdom it is because of God’s work in our lives.
Do you remember the vivid image of Isaiah’s call to be God’s
prophet? He sees himself in the heavenly
throne room. Overwhelmed by his sense of
sinfulness he cries out, “Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips!” An angel comes and touches his lips with a
coal from the altar. At that point God
calls him to be his prophet. The
implication is clear: Isaiah was able to
speak God’s words because of God’s action.
Paul is telling his Roman readers and us that if we would think
soberly about ourselves, we would remember that without God we could do nothing
for the Kingdom.
The new “sober” way of thinking about ourselves involves keeping in
mind our relationship to the community of faith.
In I Corinthians 12 Paul elaborates on the analogy of the church to
the human body and it various parts. The
same idea is found here in an abbreviated form and with a slightly different
focus. The healthy congregation
resembles the human body for “just as in the human body there is a union of
many parts” so in the church there are many ministries (mediated through
individuals) but the church remains one.
The important idea here seems to be that we have an interdependent
relationship to our fellow believers.
Nolie’s translation of verse five stresses this point; the verse depicts “each one of us being part
of the whole and mutually dependent on one another.”
That’s the last thing that those with an inflated self-view want to
hear. They don’t want to hear that they
need their fellow Christians. They enjoy
the illusion that they are super Christians who can get by without any of their
fellow believers. They can’t. In fact, their thinking fails to appreciate
the wisdom displayed by God in creating the church with such a “purposeful
diversity” [Hendirksen’s term] of gifts.
Years ago, while we were still living in Texas, I heard of a young
high school quarterback who was obviously gifted. He was well on his way to leading his team
to a championship season. Well, it seems
he one day boasted to a local newspaper writer about how he was the most
important member of the team. When his
teammates read about it they were understandable upset. So, when the next Friday came around and they
took to the field they had a plan. Once
they were safely ahead, the boys passed the word to put the plan into
action. So, the next time the quarterback
took the ball, his teammates did nothing—instead of blocking they just stood
there. The young quarterback quickly got
the point: gifted as he was, he needed
his fellow team members.
Paul is saying to those tempted to hold inflated views of themselves,
you need your fellow team members.
Conclusion
We’ve been looking at words Paul addressed to those who tended to
think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. I’d like to use this conclusion to say
something to those who tend to think less of themselves than they ought to
think.
1.
If you’ve been reluctant to get involved in the church because you
think you have nothing to contribute, think again. God designed the church to make use of every
gift—the spectacular and the simple.
2.
If you hesitate to make yourself available to the church because you
know you’re unworthy to do God’s work, welcome to the club. Everyone who anyway at all does God’s work,
does so because of God’s grace.
The new way of thinking which reflects leads to transformed living
begins with a new way of thinking about ourselves but soon moves to a new way
of thinking about others and about
God—the wise Gift-giver.
