Back in Romans 12 today, yesterday, we planted ourselves in verses 1 & 2. God used those powerfully through the day, I had the opportunity to use them in a few talks with teams and ended up calling the “message” - Bring your leftovers. Meaning, give God your first and best, and work should get leftovers. I think this will turn into a Bible plan one day, and I will call it Offer Life Your Leftovers. Anyway, let us move on. 

Today we dive into verses 3-8. I switched to the TPT version, The Passion Translation. I use the compare feature in YouVersion all the time, I love seeing the different versions and the different word choices, and today the TPT drove home the meaning for me. 

God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance. Instead, honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem. (v3)

Paul comes right out of an encouraging verse 2 about discerning God’s will and living a beautiful life right into calling out pride. I loved how Paul opens this about God giving him the grace to speak on the topic. If anyone knew about pride and how to spot it and see it, it would have been Paul. Paul himself was puffed up with pride before his radical encounter with Jesus, and I believe this is why God has given him the grace to speak on the topic...he is a recovering Prideaholic. 

This is so culturally relevant today, a reason I picked the TPT, “emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of importance.” Soak that in a moment, drop the self-promotion! This is so counter-cultural in today's society that tells us we all need a “brand”...Brand You! How social media drive so many to create this false reality of life and turn into a false image of importance. STOP! Instead, embrace self-awareness. I loved how the NIV put this:

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, (v3b)

This does not mean thinking less of yourself, you and I are a beautiful creation, a masterpiece set apart for something wonderful. But we must realize with sober judgment and have an accurate self-awareness of our flaws, issues, and struggles. We are not perfect or anywhere close. 

In the human body there are many parts and organs, each with a unique function. And so it is in the body of Christ. For though we are many, we’ve all been mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we are all vitally joined to one another, with each contributing to the others. (v4-5)

When we get off the pride ride and gain sober judgment of ourselves, we then can have the eyes to see others in the body of Christ as God designed them. Paul compares us to the human body, and human body parts don't fight each other or get envious or each other; they work together to produce life and a fully functioning system. Pride gets in the way of this harmony and unity, and we must see our real value with an appropriate God-shaped self-esteem. 

Then the glorious gifts. God gives us gifts that are uniquely ours. Dive into verses 6-8, and it is beautiful seeing these gifts in action. When you read carefully, you will see these gifts are not for us; they are given to us for others. Having these gifts, and limiting the extensive use of them is the same a Jesus talks about with burying our talents in Matthew 25. We are called to be wise stewards of all God has blessed us with, your skills and gifts are to be used to glorify Him by blessing others with them. 

As we wrap up, I am challenged to audit and understand my gifts and talents. Taking inventory, and then really self-analyzing how I am using those gifts to bless others. Let’s take one action today that uses our gifts to bless one other person. Be a river, not a reservoir. Start now!