Thank you to Mark R for this week’s MWB
Romans 12:3-8
When I worked as a counsellor in BCP and the NHS, one of the things I enjoyed most was helping people to recognise what they were good at. Sometimes people would come to talk about work difficulties, and sometimes the reason for that was because they felt like a square peg in a round hole. It was a relief for them to discover that insight, and to work towards a role that better suited their temperament.
In Romans 12:3, Paul tells us:
“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.”
What is Paul saying to us here?
He is saying: Do an accurate self assessment on yourself. Evaluate the gifts given to you by the Holy Spirit, based on the faith God has given you
He is also saying: True humility is not about low self-esteem or hating ourselves. It’s seeing ourselves clearly and objectively, recognising our strengths and our weaknesses. Sometimes it can help to ask a trusted friend what they think our gifts are.
And finally, it means recognising the Source of those Gifts, the Holy Spirit. Even the faith we have is a gift. That will keep us from “thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to”
And then Paul mentions these gifts:
The gift of prophecy
The gift of serving
The gift of teaching
The gift of encouraging
The gift of giving
And the gift of leading.
He calls us to identify what gift/gifts God has given us, then put those gifts into action to build up the church family!