Romans 15-16: It’s Not Enough to Please Ourselves; We Must Please Our Neighbor
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.’
–Romans 15:1-3 (ESV)
It is so easy to wander through life focusing on me. Manipulating others to accomplish what I want and lift me up. But Paul explains I need to work to please others. This is not an issue of being a doormat. This is not saying I may never assert my feelings and ask for my desires to be accomplished. Paul’s point is that I need to make one of my goals be edifying others. Instead of selfishly using others to lift me up, I need to work to lift them. I need to add value.
I need to work on this, getting outside myself and looking around at others’ needs. What will help them grow? What will strengthen them? What will lift them up and edify them? That takes sacrifice. But it is not enough for me to please myself, I need to please others for their good.
That is how Jesus lived; that is how I must live.
Keep the faith and keep reading.
ELC
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What is Going On Here?
I’m so glad you dropped by “Give Attention to Reading,” a blog dedicated to reading and discussing God’s word, the Bible.
This blog is not about pushing our favorite doctrines. It is not about debate (though I’m sure at times we might get some good discussion going). It is just about promoting the reading of Scripture. It is about reading it with a view to learning something each day.
This blog is driven by my book of the same title. I figured out if we read two chapters of the New Testament each week day, we can read the whole New Testament in exactly six months. My book provides a note page for each day of reading with a section of very simple questions to devote your mind to the text and some thought questions to help you take the study as deep as you want it. It also contains a weekly group discussion guide if you would like to take this journey with some friends.
Whether you get the book or not, this blog provides a spot for us to discuss how the Word has hit us. I hope you will join me each weekday and read the New Testament together. Each day, I will blog about how the day’s reading struck me. Usually, I will pick out some part of the reading that impacted me in a special way. Feel free to comment about my thoughts or share with other Bible readers some part of the day’s reading that really resonated with you. When we are all sharing how the Word impacts us, we will all grow together.
If you want to maximize your experience, you can purchase my “Give Attention to Reading” book at Streamside Supplies.
May God richly bless you as you draw closer to Him.
More importantly, may you richly bless God.
P.S. I am currently working on a version for the Old Testament. Hopefully, by the time we are done with our present trek through the New Testament, we will be ready for the Old.
