CONDUCT YOURSELF LIKE A BELIEVER
15 REJOICE WITH THOSE WHO REJOICE, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, BUT ASSOCIATE WITH THE HUMBLE. DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN OPINION."
Romans 12:15,16 (NKJV)
There are believers who do not read or are not conversant with the New testament of the Bible, especially the epistles. The truth is, epistles are the letters that are written to us, the believers, the new testament church—the Body of Christ.
We can truly learn from the old testament books of the Bible, but they were not mainly written to us, they were written for those in Judaism, whilst the four Gospel were written for us, the believers, to learn and know about the teaching of Christ Jesus and His earthly Ministry.
That said, the Books that are mainly written to us, the believers, which tell us about how to relate with God and fellow humans—live a Christian life, or practice our faith and be practical about whatever we claim that we believe—are the epistles.
These epistles talk about pratical Christian living—how to be practical in your Christian faith, putting the Word of God to work or practice. But a good number of believers would not want to read them because of the reprovable or scoldable or correctable and condemnatory nature of the content.
Epistles are the books of the Bible that talked about how we should practice the Christian faith, how to live as believers in Christ Jesus, but regrettably a number of believers would not want to believe and practice the words in them.
The admonition in the passage, our text, is that believers should rejoice with those who are rejoicing. In other words, you should identify with others in whatever they might be passing through. If a fellow believer is in a joyous mood, rejoicing, you should also rejoice with him or her. If however a believer is weeping, in a time of distress, you should also mourn or grief or weep with him or her. This talks about love, sharing and partaking in whatever any fellow believer is going through: " . . . LAUGH WITH YOUR HAPPY FRIENDS WHEN THEY'RE HAPPY; SHARE TEARS WHEN THEY'RE DOWN" (Romans 12:15 MESSAGE).
Believers are not to live an isolated life, they are to walk in oneness as a family. The essence of being admonished to be a member of a spiritual family is for the purpose of what is being shared here (Hebrews 10:24,25). In the community of believers, children of God, there should be mutual love, oneness and being there for one another in the time of distresses and predicaments.
Another important admonition in the next verse of our text, Romans 12:16, is that believers should have the same mind towards one another. You as a believer should see other fellow believers as one with you. There should be no segregation or creating of classes in which you want to create an impression that you are higher or better than others (Romans 12:3).
Note:
• You should not see yourself to be superior than others, thinking or seeing yourself more than you ought to (Romans 12:3).
• You should not be high minded (Philippians 2:3).
Some believers, especially If they are a bit comfortable than others, they want to believe that they should not be seen with some brethren; that they are higher than them, that they are not in the same class, whereas the people whom he does not want to identify with are fellow believers, even in the same fold or local church—that is pride and being self conceited: " . . . DO NOT SET YOUR MIND ON HIGH THINGS, BUT ASSOCIATE WITH THE HUMBLE . . ." (Romans 12:16).
Another translation put it thus:
"LIVE IN PEACE [harmony] WITH EACH OTHER. DO NOT BE PROUD [arrogant; haughty], BUT MAKE FRIENDS WITH THOSE WHO SEEM UNIMPORTANT [associate with the humble/those of low social status; or be willing to do lowly tasks]. DO NOT THINK HOW SMART [wise; superior] YOU ARE."
Romans 12:16 (Expanded Bible)
It is a common nature of human beings, when they are a bit better or higher than others, one way or the other, they would want to show it by creating a class, a clique, and they would want to separate themselves from the rest of the people. This is common in the world, but the Bible says it is wrong to have that in the fold of believers, the people of God.
In some local churches where you have a couple of affluents, wealthy people, they would want to turn the place into a cult that It would be difficult for whoever does not matter in the society to belong. If they could not succeed to resist those who are not of their status from coming in, they would want to create a class and segregate themselves from others.
Wherever this is happening, any fold or assembly of the people of God where such is happening, the numerical growth of such congregation would be hampered or retarded and potential souls that should be part of the fold, they would be repelling away.
The truth:
I. If you are a believer and you are part of what is being shared here, you behave as such, It shows that you are still carnal, fleshly. Wherever you see such a thing happening, It is the work of carnality, work of the flesh—a truckload of pride is being exhibited there: "FOR YOU ARE STILL CARNAL. FOR WHERE THERE ARE ENVY, STRIVE, AND DIVISIONS AMONG YOU, ARE YOU NOT CARNAL AND BEHAVING LIKE MERE MEN?" (1 Corinthians 3:3 NKJV).
II. A leader or minister who perceived that happening or could see that happening in his fold, under his leadership, should do something about it. A minister should not allow segregation, allow his or her fold to be divided—division is a sign of immaturity or carnality.
a. One of the ways to correct such anomaly or oddment is to pray for oneness or unity among the people—his or her congregation.
b. The minister should teach about it, teach the people about what the Bible says on being self conceited or arrogant. He should let them know that neither superiority complex nor inferiority complex is of God, that such should not be found in the life of a believer.
c. The minister himself or herself should not be a bigot or segregationist. You know, there are ministers who are bigots, segregationists, racists, who cannot withstand or tolerate or accommodate whoever is not of their kind or homogeneity.
If you are a minister of such, you cannot but raise or breed a congregation with such a mindset or attitude. Someone said, an organization or congregation is a lengthen shadow of the leader. In other words, the people under your leadership would replicate whatever is seen in your life.
God is against pride,
a. He resists a proud person:
"BUT GOD GIVES US EVEN MORE GRACE, as the Scripture [it; or he] says, “GOD IS [set Himself] AGAINST [opposes; resists] THE PROUD, BUT HE GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE [Prov. 3:34; 1 Pet. 5:5]” (James 4:6 Expanded Bible).
b. And He looks at the proud afar off:
"THOUGH THE LORD IS GREAT, HE CARES FOR THE HUMBLE, BUT HE KEEPS HIS DISTANCE FROM THE PROUD" (Psalm 138:6 NLT).
Meditate on this passage:
2 FULFILL my joy by being like-minded, HAVING THE SAME LOVE, BEING OF ONE ACCORD, OF ONE MIND.
3 LET nothing be done through SELFISH AMBITION OR CONCEIT, but in LOWLINESS OF MIND let each ESTEEM OTHERS BETTER THAN HIMSELF.
4 LET EACH OF YOU LOOK OUT NOT ONLY FOR HIS OWN INTERESTS, BUT ALSO FOR THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS."
Philippians 2:2-4 (NKJV)
Peace.