Be of Kind-Mind!

“Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” Romans 12:16 NASB

     It’s easy to get caught up in how the world operates. Especially now with the way social media lets everyone have a voice. I am for having a voice. However, a lot of times, what we see is not helpful or even cordial toward one another. A positive post that is uplifting and edifying can be overlooked while a post that smears someone has a million views and thousands of hateful comments. As believers, we are called to be set apart from that and to be different with one another.

     One thing God has made clear to me through the course of my life is everything except redemption and all that comes with receiving God’s gift of salvation is fleeting. If we are blessed to see old age, the super-smart must contend with losing memories just as those whom the culture labels as intellectually lacking. The well-to-do person who looks down on those not in the financial position they are blessed to be in can just as easily find their business in the toilet from one ill-timed decision, or as many learned back when the economy tanked from circumstances beyond their control. How the world chooses to be in these matters is on the world. How we as believers are instructed to be is quite clear. We are to be of the same mind toward one another!

     Something about this passage that would not let me alone, though, was that word lowly. I understand how it can be taken today, but I had to look at what Paul meant by it. I was surprised to find that it means to be brought low with grief, depressed, as well as those that we encounter who are internally beaten down and come across as beneath everyone they encounter. It ties in with what Fair-Weather Friends talks about and broadens the scope of that to say, “Hey, don’t look down on those that are low with grief, depressed, feel broken.” Here, we are told to be with them, to associate with them.

     This passage makes me rethink some things, particularly what Christ would say to me if I were treating the downcast as lepers to be avoided because they might suck the life out of my joy. It also convicts me in other ways, especially in how I react to things that people say. Who am I to come across as haughty? What about you? Where do you see room for improvement? How can this passage be better applied to your life? How can we be better about being of the same mind toward one another?

Until Next Time

God Bless