October 17, 2024

Romans 15:1-6  (HCSB)
Pleasing Others, Not Ourselves
15 Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. 2 Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even the Messiah did not please Himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me. 4 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. 5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement allow you to live in harmony with one another, according to the command of Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice.

Kim Ivey
This isn’t a lesson just for the Romans. In 1 Corinthians 9:22 Paul says, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.” This is a lesson that Paul taught to many, not to just a few. It’s a hard lesson to learn. I don’t want to give up my biscuits and chocolate gravy just because Sue hasn’t come to terms with the fact Bro. Jo was wrong 23 years ago when he preached on the sinfulness of biscuits. But wait, is it Paul that’s the author of Romans, 1 Corinthians, and all of those other letters?  No, that’s right–it’s God speaking through Paul, so that means it’s God teaching this lesson. And God is a great Teacher, isn’t He? He uses the best examples! His ultimate example of this very truth, surrendering our rights, is Jesus Christ. Jesus left the throne room of heaven to subject Himself to dirty, stinky, sickly humanity. He didn’t just give up biscuits, He gave up a kind of perfection that we cannot fathom. He suffered the insults of the ignorant, of those who in their misunderstanding, criticized God and His sovereignty. Jesus surrendered His right, as the Son of God, to never experience hunger, physical pain and sickness, earthly temptations, etc. So, when we put things in perspective and consider what Jesus gave up in order to love us well, it should be easier for us to give up that thing that may be getting in the way of us ministering to someone else.