Passage
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with the ones who are weeping. While having the same attitude into one
another, while not having a haughty attitude but while being associated with
the humble, do not become wise in your own sight. While not repaying evil for evil, while
having in mind to do good in the sight of all mankind, if the power is out of
you all while living at peace with all mankind.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Having spoken about love, Paul now turns to community. He gives us three very prominent theories
about community living in these verses.
First, Paul tells us to bless the people around us. Anyone can curse their enemies. But only someone whose agenda is not rooted
in this world can actually bless their enemies.
Having a relationship with God implies that we can look upon the people
around us with a perspective that is different from the world.
Do you find it easy to have enemies? Do you find it easy to bless your enemies and
desire the best for them? What benefit
is there to blessing your enemies?
Second Thought:
The second thought that Paul gives us in this passage is one
of humbleness. Paul tells us to not be
haughty. He tells us to be associated
with the humble. He tells us to not be
wise in our own sight. This has two
effects. The first effect is that it
allows us to take the focus off of ourselves and instead put the focus upon
God. The second effect is that it makes
us approachable to others. When we are
not caught up in our own greatness other people can come and learn from what
God is doing in our midst.
Are you successful at being humble? Do you think yourself wise in your own
sight? Why are you more approachable
when you aren’t focused on your own greatness?
Third Thought:
The third thought Paul gives us is that we should live at
peace with one another as much as is within our power. The first two thoughts naturally lead to this
third thought. If we are not cursing our
enemies we will not feel the need to repay evil for evil done to us. If we are not haughty, we will be willing to
be in fellowship with our neighbors rather than be in competition with them. When we are at peace with mankind, we can truly
do good with and to one another.
How often do you feel like you are at peace? How often are you able to do go to your
fellow man?
Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 12:19-21
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