As my wife and I became members of Frontier Ventures in Pasadena, CA, we were required to go through an orientation called Kingdom Being/Living/Doing. There was a strong focus on self-awareness in this process. This wasn’t always easy for me. I wasn’t very self-aware. There were elements of my mindset (much of which came with my medical training) that affected my actions negatively. Which of course translated into hurting others. Not with intention but simply as fallout from not being self-aware.
This week’s passage gets to this very fact. It reads, in part, “Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment… “ (vs. 3). Sober judgment here (sophroneo) could be interpreted to mean to be in one’s right mind! This may be one of the hardest and scariest things to do as a human: to think rightly about oneself. Or to be increasingly self-aware. This is supremely challenging for those who are not committed to a life following Jesus but even for those who are His disciples, as I have been for more than 40 years, it is hard.
In the first case, for non-believers, it is difficult because most of what is consumed through eyes and ears is telling one that you are fine just the way you are, that the world needs to acknowledge this fact, and let you pursue whatever it is you believe is right and good for you. In other words it conveys the thinking that you are your own god. What a recipe for a miserable life!
But even coming to faith in Christ doesn’t mean we still won’t bring along old ways of living, being and doing. It doesn’t negate the need for ongoing renewal of our minds so that we can then offer our bodies as a living sacrifice as a form of true and proper worship, and that we can become a helpful member of the body of Christ. How many of the hardships being suffered by the Church these days are because her members don’t follow these, dare we call them, mandates. Be self-aware, renew your mind constantly, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, become an active and contributing member of the body of Christ.
For reflection:
- Does your daily life align with the admonitions of this passage? How are you renewing your mind regularly and how is it you are giving all of yourself, mind/body/spirit, to worshiping our Lord and serving His people?
by Mike Soderling
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