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 faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)
I did tell you that I have been
looking forward to getting to Romans 12. Today’s passage is another example of
why I’m so fond of it. Paul tells it like it is. The past two days have been
about sacrifice and conforming. Today’s is about a proper self-image. I rather
expect there are some people who will read this blog, or who could read this
blog and say, “Um, Karen, did you
read what it says? Don’t think of yourself
more highly than you ought….”
I know people who don’t like my thinking that I’m right all the time. The odd thing is that most of those people tend to disagree with me. It’s not that I think I’m right, it’s that I think they’re wrong. Those who agree with me don’t express nearly the difficulty with what I say. That being said, I agree that I tend to come across like a battering ram. I tend to be more interested in what is right than in how the other person feels because what they think influences how they feel. Jesus said that we would know the truth and the truth would set us free – not that we would feel good and feeling good would set us free. That’s not a good excuse for being brutal, and I agree it’s an area in which I need lots of work.
But here’s the thing. I don’t believe I’m right because I said that such-and-such is so. I believe something is right because Scripture says so, because logic says so, because common sense says so, even because science says so – approximately in that order (most to least important.) If you can show me Scripture (not relying on modern, Liberal theologians) that something is so, I have no argument I can use against it. If you can prove something to be so, I’ll go along with it, but you have to prove it to me.
I’m beating this to death because there is a difference between holding firmly to what you believe and thinking of oneself more highly than one ought. As far as I’m concerned, I’m a nobody, a nothing. I spent nearly half my career as a glorified stock clerk. The things about which I sometimes might take some pride: my education, my family history, etc., are things I either recognize as not being my doing, or as not being worth as much as they might seem. I'm simply not impressed with myself, which is part of the reason I find it so hard to look for a job. How do you "sell" a piece of junk? (No lectures, please.)
I grew up as a “goody-two-shoes” but I don’t see myself as being a good person. I have stood in Office Max and considered the fact that if I had a gun, I would probably have used it (and done a great deal of damage to walls and shelves while missing every person, except perhaps by accident.) I haven’t actually killed, but knowing what I have done, what I continue to do, and what I have been tempted to do, the only sins of which I don’t think I’m capable are those that don’t interest me or those that aren’t physical possible for me. As many people as I have met who think I think too highly of myself, I've also met those who believe I think too lowly of myself.
I definitely need to obey what Paul is saying – thinking neither more highly nor more lowly of myself than I ought. That’s one of the reasons I ask people to pray about my wisdom, direction, and attitude.
I know people who don’t like my thinking that I’m right all the time. The odd thing is that most of those people tend to disagree with me. It’s not that I think I’m right, it’s that I think they’re wrong. Those who agree with me don’t express nearly the difficulty with what I say. That being said, I agree that I tend to come across like a battering ram. I tend to be more interested in what is right than in how the other person feels because what they think influences how they feel. Jesus said that we would know the truth and the truth would set us free – not that we would feel good and feeling good would set us free. That’s not a good excuse for being brutal, and I agree it’s an area in which I need lots of work.
But here’s the thing. I don’t believe I’m right because I said that such-and-such is so. I believe something is right because Scripture says so, because logic says so, because common sense says so, even because science says so – approximately in that order (most to least important.) If you can show me Scripture (not relying on modern, Liberal theologians) that something is so, I have no argument I can use against it. If you can prove something to be so, I’ll go along with it, but you have to prove it to me.
I’m beating this to death because there is a difference between holding firmly to what you believe and thinking of oneself more highly than one ought. As far as I’m concerned, I’m a nobody, a nothing. I spent nearly half my career as a glorified stock clerk. The things about which I sometimes might take some pride: my education, my family history, etc., are things I either recognize as not being my doing, or as not being worth as much as they might seem. I'm simply not impressed with myself, which is part of the reason I find it so hard to look for a job. How do you "sell" a piece of junk? (No lectures, please.)
I grew up as a “goody-two-shoes” but I don’t see myself as being a good person. I have stood in Office Max and considered the fact that if I had a gun, I would probably have used it (and done a great deal of damage to walls and shelves while missing every person, except perhaps by accident.) I haven’t actually killed, but knowing what I have done, what I continue to do, and what I have been tempted to do, the only sins of which I don’t think I’m capable are those that don’t interest me or those that aren’t physical possible for me. As many people as I have met who think I think too highly of myself, I've also met those who believe I think too lowly of myself.
I definitely need to obey what Paul is saying – thinking neither more highly nor more lowly of myself than I ought. That’s one of the reasons I ask people to pray about my wisdom, direction, and attitude.
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