Jump Start # 2604

Romans 12:3 “For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

Our verse today is a tough one. It’s not the understanding part, but the doing part. It’s about balance. It’s how we see ourselves and how we view others. Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to—that’s the principle, but that’s a lot easier to say than to do.

As parents, we think our kids are the best. As grandparents, we think those cute little darlings are the stars of the universe. Our kid is the best on the team. Every dad who has ever coached a team has had to deal with the upset parent because their child is sitting on the bench. The upset parent feels that their child will make all the difference. He’s all star material in their mind.

Balance in our thinking. That’s tough. It’s even hard among preachers. We try to be humble, but with every visiting preacher, the home preacher thinks it’s time to pack the bags and head out because he can’t equal the talent that the congregation loves in the guest preacher. “Wish we had preaching like that all the time,” I heard one guy gushing over a visiting preacher while I was standing next to him. Another said, “Boy, I wish you’d move here.”

Balance—how does one find it.

First, do not think too highly of yourself. The text says, “not more highly than he ought to.” You’re not the greatest, best or one of a kind. The world didn’t stop when you were born. The kingdom will not collapse when you leave this planet. Thinking too highly will lead to pride and trouble. It will put you in a place that you’ll likely make mistakes. You feel that certain passages are for others, but not for you. You’ve got it all under control. Everyone else needs this stuff, not you. Paul’s words were not directed to a conference of preachers, but to the members of the Roman church. All of us need this. Too proud to follow the lead of shepherds. I know so much that I don’t have to listen to the sermon. I am better than others.

Sometimes secular education will put a person there. An attorney, a doctor, and a mailman all sitting on the same pew. The lawyer and the doctor have spent years in college. The mailman didn’t. The “professionals” belong to professional organizations. They have special conferences that only their people can attend. Nothing at all wrong with any of this except, being more intelligent in one area does not make one a better person. All three of them need Jesus. All three of them need to be responsible to the congregation. Thinking I’m better than others will make one bossy, and too good to do things.

I knew an elder years ago who was a CEO of a large company. He was very wealthy and very influential in the community he lived in. We had a work day at the church building one day. Folks were cleaning the outside and the inside. We were giving the place a real polish. I went looking for this man and found him in the men’s bathroom, on his knees, scrubbing a toilet. He was whistling as he was working. What a lesson he taught. He wasn’t too good to do that. Someone had to do it and it might as well been him, he thought.

Don’t think too highly of yourself. You are not beyond sin. You are not the best to ever come along. You are not beyond learning, being corrected or even doing better. When someone pulls out the, “Do you know who I am,” statement, they are thinking too highly of themselves. One who thinks too highly, wants to run the place. He doesn’t view himself as an equal. He is not a team player. He’s the best. And, that pride stinks. Others see it. And, they don’t like it.

Second, that balance must keep us from going too far the other way. It’s one thing to think too highly and that must be dealt with. But, just as wrong is to think too lowly of self. It’s believing that one is not capable of doing anything right. It’s believing that God had to choose you because you were the last one standing in line. It’s seeing little good that you add to a congregation. It’s believing that if you dropped out no one would miss you. And, this spirit is no better than thinking too highly. This is not humility. This is low or no self esteem. God loves you. Jesus died for you. God has blessed you, forgiven you and gifted you with talents that you are special at. When our balance is out of whack, we compare ourselves to others and we always come out on the low end of the stick. I sure can’t preach like that guy. I can’t lead singing like that guy. I can’t do anything. Stop saying that, because it’s not true. If everyone could preach, the pulpit would be crowded and the pews would be empty. Too often in a congregation, those that serve publically, get all the attention. The backbone of the congregation is the love, support, connections that made throughout the week. The phone calls. The meals taken. The cards sent. The people invited. The encouragement given. Many do not see these things. Many do not even know about those things. But it is those things that make all the difference.

Too high…too low—it’s a balance. It’s a tough one to figure out. Sometimes, like that ole’ teeter-totter, we are up and then we are down and it takes a while to find that right balance. You need others. They need you. And, all of us need Jesus.

Hope this helps…

Roger

Jump Start # 1950

Romans 12:3 “ For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

Our verse today shows three different layers of lessons. First, a person should not think more highly of himself than he ought to. Second, think so as to have sound judgment. Third, God allotted a measure of faith. Many thoughts come from these three statements. Some of them are built upon later in the passage when the Romans are instructed, “be devoted to one another in brotherly love,” “be of the same mind toward one another,” and, “do not be wise in your own estimation.” Those all spring from the proper thinking of self and others.

This seemed to be a problem then and it’s a problem today. We think too much of self and too little of others. It’s the “ought to” part that seems to trip many of us We are not to think more highly of self than we ought to. Just what is the “ought to?” That sounds like a balance, like an old teeter-totter. Too much thinking of self and we are sailing high in the air. Think too little and we crash on the ground. Folks often are just that way, too much or too little. The too much part is pride. We see that. People are in love with self. They love to talk about themselves. Pride gets in the way of learning, serving and becoming. But the too little part leads to feeling defeated, worthless and low self-esteem. Neither is Biblical, healthy nor accurate.

The proud person won’t apologize, forgive or seek help. He knows it all, he thinks. His pride will be his downfall. Sooner or later it will catch up with him and he will get in trouble. But the person who thinks too little of self also has problems. He doesn’t feel that God loves him, that he is needed in the kingdom nor that he can add any value to the work in the kingdom. He will sit on the sidelines of life, stuck in his pity party, singing, “woe is me.” This person fails to see that God values him. Jesus was sent to save His soul. God wants him in Heaven and God knows and believes that he can be productive in the kingdom.

Not to think more highly of himself than he ought to. How do we get that “ought to” part right? It’s a balance. It’s a struggle. It’s something we have to work on.

Here are some things to consider:

• Do I find myself always talking about myself to others? Listen to what you are saying. Do you listen or do you have to top every story, tell others all your surgeries, and be the star of every situation. Some have to be the corpse at every funeral and the bride at every wedding. That’s a pride issue. Catch it and stop it. Listen to others without having to tell your story. Offer comfort without having to bring yourself into every situation. Can you do that?

• Do you find that you talk yourself out of invitations because you don’t think people like you? You’re invited to someone’s house, but you quickly turn down the invitation with an excuse. You know the excuse is just that, a way of not going. You don’t want to go because you feel that the people have to ask you or that they feel sorry for you. You don’t know what to talk about if you go. You don’t think you’ll have a good time. So you stay home. You always stay home. You don’t realize that people do like you and want to be around you. This is a self-esteem issue. This trickles into the church. You turn down opportunities to serve, lead, teach—because you have assigned the tag, “I’m not very good,” to yourself.

Let me share a secret with you. Just about every preacher I know cannot stand to listen to himself on CD, or even worse, watch a video of themselves. I’m that way. I see myself on video and think, “Oh, no. That poor audience.” Most of us, if we had to do that very long, would put a sack on our heads and quit. But we realize people are asking us to come and preach. People are asking us to preform their weddings. They want us to teach classes. That “ought to” part makes us realize that we must be doing something right and helpful.

So, the “ought to” part is a matter of perspective. Do not think that the kingdom or even the congregation you attend will collapse if you are no longer there. That’s not true. The church is greater than you. It will survive. But also, God made us to be contributing parts in the kingdom. We all add value. There is something that we all can do.

The five, two and one talent parable helps us. Never did the master compare one with the others. We do. This is how the “ought to” part falls to pieces. The five talent person begins to believe that he is better than the other two. Be careful there. The master didn’t give all the talent to one person. The others were to do what they could. But the one talent man looks to the others and he starts thinking about all the things he can’t do. “I can’t lead singing, like the others.” “I can’t preach like the others.” Before long, he believes that he can’t do anything. And like the one talent man in the parable, he does nothing, only hurting himself and the Master.

The ole’ cookie cutter idea isn’t Biblical. The concept that we all a sheet of cookie dough that is stamped into the same shape works great for cookies, but not disciples. The lessons about spiritual gifts from Corinthians reminds us that some are hands, some are feet, some are eyes, some are noses. We are not all the same. Not everyone can do personal evangelism effectively. Not everyone can teach. Not everyone can comfort. Not everyone knows what to say at the funeral home. Not everyone can find the right words to say to the discouraged. But we all can do something. We all have been gifted and have talent from the Lord.

The one talent man certainly needs the two and five talent men. But the five talent man also needs the others. Think of yourself as you “ought to.” Not too high, nor too low—it’s something that we have to work on all the time. And once we get this “ought to” figured out for ourselves, we then need to help others. So few get this right. Too high and too low seem to be where most people are. Getting a good dose of “ought to” is what we need these days.

How we “ought to” think—that’s what it’s all about. Jesus helps.

Roger

Jump Start # 1292

Romans 12:3 “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as god has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

This section in Romans starts the practical thoughts of the book. Paul is concerned with the insides as much as the outsides. Our attitudes eventually reflect how we treat others. We may have pretty good behavior, but if we maintain “stinkin’ thinkin’” we aren’t much better off.

There are four attitudes addressed in Romans 12:

• Attitude toward God: “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice” (1)
• Attitude toward self: “not to think more highly of himself than he ought to” (3)
• Attitude toward others: “be devoted to one another in brotherly love” (10)
• Attitude toward those that oppose: “never pay back evil for evil to anyone” (17)

Our verse today deals with our attitude toward self. That’s hard. There is a balance. The text says not to think more highly of himself than he ought to. When we think too highly, we become arrogant and begin to think that we are better than others. In the church, we may think that the folks can’t survive without us. The big head leads to looking down at others. The superior attitude is a long way from the lowly Jesus who surrounded Himself with outcasts, lepers, tax collectors and those that society had given up on.

The other extreme isn’t any better when it comes to our attitude about self. Some would never think too highly of themselves, because they think too lowly of themselves. They beat themselves up all the time. They view anything that they have to offer as “dumb.” They begin statements like this, “This is a dumb question…” Don’t say that. Just ask your question. Thinking too lowly leads to no self esteem, no confidence,  and the feeling that you do not have anything worthwhile to contribute to life. Paul said, “I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me.” He also said, “We overwhelming conquer.” We are not junk, because God saw value in saving us. He didn’t throw us away. He didn’t give up on us.

Too high…too low. That’s the problem. It’s like sitting on a teeter-totter. Up and down. Up and down. Too much of self, too little of self. Back and forth. Finding that right balance, the Biblical balance is hard. It is a struggle.

  All of us have something to contribute to our fellowship. We tend to think too lowly when we compare our selves to others, especially those that excel in one area. In the parable of the talents, each servant was given different amounts based upon their ability. They were not compared with one another nor expected to do what the others did. However, they all were expected to contribute. There were things that they all could do. Some are very gifted in some areas. When we are not gifted in that area, it is easy to become jealous and to think that I cannot do anything. Down crashes our teeter-totter. We want to be like others, but we can’t. Talent, experience, backgrounds all play a part in developing who we are. However, there is something that each of us can add. So when your teeter-totter crashes down, don’t downplay what you are doing. “This isn’t much…,” or, “You probably won’t like this…” Don’t say those things. Find your gift. Excel and learn to use your gift better. Learn from others.

  Be careful believing what others say. This is when our teeter-totter sails to the top. Up, up, and away were the words of a song a long time ago. Those words describe our attitude about self when we start believing that we are the best thing that’s come along in some time. The compliments, the bragging, the puffing up can make us think more highly of self than we should. This comes especially true when you have gone out of your way to turn someone’s life around. You helped pull them out of the ditch spiritually. You were there for them. Because of your efforts a marriage was saved, a prodigal came home, an eldership turned around, a congregation moved off of dead street—the praise, accolades and tributes start pouring in. Be careful. Your spiritual teeter-totter is rising. It’s easy to think had it not been for me, all of these things would have gone south. Had it not been for me, all would have been lost. First, your part is always secondary to God’s part. God works with you, through you and receives the glory. The good done was by the Lord. You were just the instrument. You were the hammer. You were the shovel. Few people admiring a flower garden will praise the gardener’s shovel. It’s the gardener, himself, that gets the compliments. Make sure you point the credit to who really deserves it, and that is the Lord.

We are all just team players, on the same team, after the same thing. The guy who takes the ticket plays a role. Most do not even know his name. The person selling popcorn has a role. What would be the game without popcorn? Then there are the coaches, the players, the equip managers. Behind all that is the personal that has the stadium opened up. The lights work. The sound system works. The heat is turned on. Tons and tons of people who make concerts, ball games and other events run smoothly. The same is found in most congregations. There is a team of people that make everything work. The more we have that team attitude the more balanced we become in our thinking. When we start believing that I am the star, then our heads swell, our teeter-totter lifts high in the sky, and we generally ruin the good that we are doing. Arrogance isn’t attractive. It’s sours most people. Some folks need band-aides for their noses, because they are sticking so high in the air, they are scrapping the ceiling. I don’t fully understand it, but you put some academic letters behind some folks name, and they get stuffy, big headed and condescending toward others. They are difficult to talk to. They will not consider the thoughts of those “beneath” them.

In the early 1800’s, not far from where I live, there was an abandoned communal society. An Englishman, named Robert Owen purchased it and brought over from Europe some of the best thinkers and leaders of society. The place was named, “New Harmony.” In a few short years it ended in failure. There was little harmony in New Harmony. The elite set that came over didn’t work together. There was no team work. Everyone wanted to be the boss. The old expression, “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.” The New Harmony failure is repeated today in many organizations and many congregations. The key is to have the heart of a servant and have that balanced attitude about yourself.

Preachers have to watch this. I sometimes feel that the preacher is praised more than the Lord. It shouldn’t be that way. He is just another shovel that God uses. Unique as he is, he is not indispensable, indestructible, nor infallible. How he views himself sets the tone for others. Does he have the heart of a servant? Does he give credit to others? Does he listen? Does he have the mindset to be a team player?

Balanced thinking—the “teeter-totter complex.” It’s not easy. We must work at it. How you view yourself affects others. It also affects your relationship with God. So, don’t go too high, nor too low in how you see yourself.

Roger

Jump Start # 1019

Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me, I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

  In our verse today, Paul is describing thinking—there is a right way to think and a wrong way to think. Thinking too much of self is definitely the wrong way. Thinking with sound judgment is the right way to think. The word “think” is repeated three times in this one sentence. Most of our problems stem from stinkin’ thinkin’. We get our feels hurt, our feathers ruffled, our nose out of joint because of the way someone treated us. We get worked up, bent out of shape, and upset because of all the negative thinking we put into something. Thinking the way we ought to isn’t easy. It seems that something is always getting in the way and messing things up in our mind.

The end part of this verse, “a measure of faith,” is what I want to focus on. We are to think with sound judgment as God has allotted…” God has allowed sound judgment. Some seem to have more than others. It may be according to this “Measure of faith.”

The word “measure” is fascinating. It comes from the word, “metron.” That word describe an instrument that is used to measure. A watch measures time. Or, it can describe what was measured, such as an hour is a measurement of time. This word, “metron” is where our “metronome” comes from. Music lovers use and understand the metronome. It measures beats in a movement. It is helpful in keeping time when playing music. A section of music is called a “measure.” Here, we talk about a “measure of faith.”

Borrowing from the music world, this passage lends to the idea that we each have beat or a note. Not one of us plays the entire score by ourselves. There are no solos here. We blend in with others and make a wonderful sound that the composer had in his mind when he wrote the score. Orchestras are a wonderful example of this. The strings begin a piece, soft and gentle. The woodwinds and other stringed instruments come in, adding depth and flavor. Now the harp, some percussion, and soon the entire orchestra is playing together. Blended, matching and sounding beautiful. Each playing their note and drawn together, it makes a wonderful, wonderful sound. The music is rich and stirring. We each have a measure of faith. None of us has all the faith. The strengthen of a congregation is much more than just the faith of the preacher. It’s in the leadership of the shepherds. It’s in the faithfulness of the sweet widows. It’s in the enthusiasm of the young people. It’s in grandmas, and young families, and deacons. Combined, together, blended—each playing their own part, they are strong, powerful and are just what God wanted. They each have a measure of faith.

I witnessed this over the weekend. John Williams was in town conducting many of his famous pieces. You know John Williams—the music to Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Star Wars, ET and many, many other movie sound tracts. Williams has received more Oscar nominations that any other person. We went. Sat in the 8th row, dead center. Amazing. He led the orchestra in playing his music. Piece after piece. Strong. Beautiful. Incredible. One piece, from the movie Lincoln, opens with a solo cello. The first chair cello, sitting just a few inches from John Williams started. Williams turned to him, without waving his baton, the cello started. Everyone was watching. It was the largest crowd in history for this orchestra. The house was packed. The orchestra watched. John Williams watched. The cello just played. Soon the other instruments came in and everyone was playing. Beautiful piece.

That was an amazing moment for me. I can not imagine playing in front of a record audience. I can not imagine playing alone before the rest of the orchestra. Worst, I can not imagine playing in front of the composer. He wrote the piece. He knows just how it is to sound. He knows what he wants. It was beautiful. When the piece ended, the audience gave a rousing applause. John Williams stuck his hand out and shook the hand of the cello player. There was a sign of approval. It touched that cello player. The rest of the night, he rarely looked at the audience. He focused upon John Williams. He was playing his music.

It struck me about God. God’s book, the Bible, is His score. It is His piece. You and I stand before God, and He watches us. He watches not with a frown upon His face. He watches not with a pencil in hand, ready to mark every mistake we make. He watches with enjoyment as we preform what He has written. Our marriages, when following His word, plays out just as He wanted it to. Our families, our friendships, our fellowship, even our worship—it’s just the way He wrote it. Now, when a person, ignores what God says and plays the music to his own liking, it won’t sound like the conductor wants and it is certainly not the way the composer wrote it. When we follow His lead, when we focus upon what He has written, things are beautiful.

Jesus told the man with five talents, “Well done, good and faithful…” He extended His hand, we might say, and shook the hand of the five talent man. That’s the way it is supposed to sound. You played it just the way I wrote it. It was beautiful.

Don’t fight God. Don’t try to improve upon what He has written. Don’t think you can make it better. What God has done is the masterpiece. It is brilliant. It is amazing. You and I make it come alive by playing our notes. What a beautiful sound it makes when we follow the lead of our Master.

Is your marriage just the way God wrote it? Is He looking at you and saying, “that’s just the way I wanted it?” How about your relationship with the kids? How about your faith? How about your fellowship in the congregation? God had a masterpiece in mind when he wrote the Bible. You and I now get to make it come alive by the way we live.

I expect no one enjoyed the Williams concert as much as John Williams did. You could tell. He was having the time of his life. The audience gave him three encores. They would have done more, but he was tired. He loved it. He smiled. He shook the hands of about everyone in the orchestra. He waved and waved to the audience. He knew what it was supposed to be like. It was from his mind and his heart. The orchestra played   the way he wrote it.

I wonder if God is the same. I wonder if God gets the most enjoyment when He sees things working just the way He wrote it. I wonder if He smiles and smiles. From His mind and His heart, we live out what He wrote.

A measure of faith…a note at a time. Focus upon what you are to play. Play it the best that you can. The applause goes to the composure, who wrote such a wonderful, wonderful piece.

Well done, God! I’m thankful I could be a part of something so grand and so wonderful.

Roger