Romans 12:3 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.
The maxim “know thyself” has been tossed around in world literature at least since the ancient Egyptians. I think of the above verse as Paul’s version of it. It makes sense that we should deal with ourselves realistically but most of us don’t find that an easy thing to do. We are caught up in our own hopes and aspirations for our lives and the messages we have been receiving (or at least think we have been receiving) about ourselves since childhood. We tend to either overestimate the things we like about ourselves or beat ourselves up for our perceived deficits and failures. People spend lots of money on therapy to help them get to the truth about themselves and their lives. What if our faith communities were places where people got to know each other beyond a surface level and, from a base of trust and mutual commitment, helped each other discover the unique attributes or “gifts” (that is what Paul goes on to discuss) that God has created in them? Can we get beyond evaluating and judging each other so that we can help each other mature and flourish? This week consider what it would take for you to “think of yourself with sober judgement.”
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 