Romans 12:3-8

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Reflection:
Living in a world that defines successes and failures by what people do and how they live their life, we may find ourselves getting caught up in doing whatever it takes to fall under the “success” category.  After all, who wants to be a failure? As a result, we put on layers and layers of things that the world expects us to be. Whether directly or indirectly, we are competing against our neighbors, our co-workers, our classmates, or anyone who stands in the way of your success. This drive can easily distort the way we view people we encounter everyday, including those in our own communities.  In today’s passage, Paul urges the people to take a step back and to think soberly about who they really are, peeling back the layers to expose what they are really made of.  No matter how self-sufficient we think we are in this life, the truth is, we are a people in need of a Savior.  As we come to this realization, we begin to see how much we need to depend on God moment by moment.  As we humbly recognize who we truly are before God, our faith can grow in a way that changes the way we view others.

Response:
Let’s pray and declare that we will depend on the Lord today and as we depend on him, may our faith increase even more.  Let’s also pray that as we depend on the Lord, may our eyes be opened to see the people of God from His perspective and that this will cause us to use our gifts to build and encourage the community that the Lord has called us to serve.