Romans 12:1-8 - Razor Planet



Get Over YourselfRomans 12:1-8Sin is not so much something we fall in to. It’s more something we’re seduced by. And the greatest seduction is pride. Pride is holy halitosis. Like bad breath, you’re the last person to know you have it. The line between pride as honor and pride as self-confidence is often very thin. The honors that come with personal accomplishments are worthy and welcome. Showcasing your successes is a bit trickier. Proving your skills and self-worth in action is one thing. Proclaiming in words your worthiness to the world is another.Our reading for this morning is a portion of Paul’s communication to a Gentile congregation in the heart of Rome. The people Paul writes are newborn Christians in a newly established community, some of whom are getting a bit high-and-mighty in their holiness. Paul reaches out to them in their vernacular, in a language that would resonate with their lives. Listen to what Paul says to the Christians in RomeRead Romans 12:1-8In Greco-Roman literature, the image of the "body" as something other than one’s physical being was common. In his earlier letter to the Corinthian church, Paul had elaborated upon the "body of Christ" image, emphasizing that the whole population of believers were, in fact, Christ’s "body" on Earth. But here, to these new Gentile Roman Christians, Paul tones down this image a bit, simply reminding them how interwoven their minds, hearts, and spirits are as they go about their daily lives. To the Roman Christians Paul only speaks about how to experience and engage this world as a complex "body."It’s significant that this is Paul’s first message to these new Christians. He shows them how to become a cohesive force of faith that shares a common goal. A unified force that becomes a community on mission for the world. A single missional organism. An integrated body that lives and loves and strives together as one.? The greatest gift Paul gives to these new Christians in his letter is his encouragement to grasp hold of a completely new reality. That reality is this: don’t be "conformed" to the world in which you find yourself, but be "transformed" by the power of Christ’s resurrection so that your "every day" life is uncommon when compared to the “every day life” in the world.Which is the same message for us today. Don’t be "conformed" to the world but be "transformed" by the power of the gospel to transform the world. But when you "transform" the world, realize that it’s not an act of pride, but an act of humble service.Followers of Jesus were the original "Transformers." Faith in Christ "transforms" us, not conforms us.? I mean, face it. If you claim to be a?Christian, you claim to be something more than you are. You claim to be more than the sum of your parts. You claim to be of Christ and be a "transforming" presence in the world.? As a "transformed" member of the "Body of Christ," you have something more to offer than yourself. You have a giftedness, a Christ-given "charisma" bestowed upon you the moment you pledged allegiance to Christ and started following him in The Way. But this giftedness is not something that should lead to pride, but to humility and service.In our passage this morning, Paul emphasizes that all Christians have received a "special gift." The problem is that the church as the "body of Christ" is really bad at recognizing and celebrating the special gifts of its members. We tend to see those with Christ-given gifts as problem children, outcasts, outsiders and weirdos. Martin Luther was a "problem child” who challenged the Roman Catholic church.Nelson Mandela was an "outcast" and "prisoner” as he battled apartheid.Martin Luther King, Jr. was one "crazy dude" preaching non-violent protests.They are each part of the whole, “members one of another" — who have "gifts that differ according to the grace given to us." You see, the moment we come to Christ in faith, is the moment that we are chosen by God for a singular mission. Our moment of acceptance is our moment of exception.We are accepted, chosen, designated, and destined at the same instant. Repentance, forgiveness, grace, redemption, and a uniquely gifted mission are all a part of the "Jesus bundle."The "Jesus bundle" is not just about accepting Jesus as the Messiah, and trusting in Him alone. The "Jesus bundle" includes the change from "conforming" to "transforming" — a recreation of ourselves in light of the power and presence of our resurrected Lord. We’re different after embracing Jesus. Face it. After confessing our faith, we no longer "fit into" nor "conform" to the world.And here’s one way we are called to "transform," not "conform." The world works according to hierarchies. Those on "top" claw and scratch to stay on "top." Those on the bottom want to get out. No one wants to be a "bottom feeder." Those on the top, like Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, can drop $12 million on a wedding and have their picture in the tabloids. The rest of us struggle to stay afloat and simply have enough at the end of the month to have a little left over. Following Jesus doesn’t guarantee us a life lived "high on the hog." Sometimes it will be pig’s feet or pork rinds. But whether we eat "high on the hog" or "pork rinds," we experience unspeakable joy and full of glory.In the Kingdom of God there is no hierarchy of gifts. As Paul puts it, in the "body" it doesn’t matter if you’re a liver, a pancreas, a heart, a kidney, a toenail or a tongue. All are vital, and every "member" of the body is an equal member. And day-to-day faithfulness makes whatever we do, day by day, week by week, month by month, truly significant and important. We are "transformers," even if it takes years, decades, centuries, to bring about the transformation that Jesus calls us to implement.Most people see this morning’s passage as Paul lifting up the meek and lowly. But Paul was calling some self-imposed “high-and-mighty” Gentile Roman Christians from their high pedestals of preference and privilege, to "not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God assigned."By using the image of the "body of Christ" Paul urges all new "members" to become equal among each other. No one was to be allowed to climb on their "high horse."To get over your self-importance, to climb down from your sanctimonious perch of superiority, and accept who you are in Christ without trying to be someone else.Paul’s message for us today is to embrace our gifts, but not view our gifts as better than anyone else’s gifts. All of the gifts (prophecy, teaching, preaching, giving, governance, generosity, hospitality, compassion – to name but a few), are equal, because they are equally "transforming." We are all called to "get off our high horse" and “get over ourselves.” To realize that we’re not above and beyond those around us. That none of us are "higher up," "better than," or "far beyond" anyone else. That Christians are not "better" than anyone else but simply people saved by God’s grace. Knowing Jesus shouldn’t put us on our "high horse" but on our knees. Being a follower of Jesus means that we’re not "high horse" diva’s but donkey disciples.There’s a fable about a frog who longed for warmer weather. Each fall Mr. Frog saw geese flying south and thought, “wouldn’t it be great to go south with the geese?”One day as two geese rested in the grass near his pond, Mr. Frog said to them, "I want to fly south with you." And they responded, "Well, if you figure out a way we can get you south, we’d be happy to take you." So Mr. Frog thought about it for a while, hoped away, and returned with a very strong piece of cord. He said, "If one of you holds this end in your beak and the other holds that end in your beak, I’ll hold on in the middle with my mouth and fly south with you."So they took the ends of the cord in their beaks, and the frog grabbed the middle with his mouth, and off they flew southward. As they climbed Mr. Frog could feel the warming air, the winds were a bit more mellow as they flew south.After flying a few hours and having taken a rest, they linked up again and were flying low over a farmyard. A cow looked up, saw against the silhouette of the clouds, and was absolutely amazed. The cow asked, "I wonder whose genius idea was that?"In a moment of pride, Mr. Frog spoke up and said, "It was mine!" and ended up letting go of the cord, falling to the ground, into a little splat at the cow’s feet.What starts the downward spiral in life? The canker of pride. Honking your own horn. Taking credit yourself rather than pointing towards others.? Lifting up yourself by putting others down rather than putting yourself down while lifting up Christ. Thinking of yourself "higher than you ought to think."If you’ve mounted any "high horses" in your life, it’s time to dismount. "Get over yourself," Paul says.? “And get on with Christ.” ................
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