You Mean It's NOT about Me? August 26, Readings: Isaiah 1-3, Romans 15, Psalm 102:1–9, Proverbs 21:11–13

Links to Today's Readings

The words seem kinda strange to our modern ears.

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself.  (Romans 15:2-3)

Wait a minute! I thought I was always supposed to live to please myself. Isn't that what we are told? God's word confronts the selfishness and vanity of our world's commonly accepted teachings. When we are bought with the price of Christ's blood we lose the right of self-determination, of self-centeredness, of living to please ourselves above all.

First and foremost, we must live to please the Father in heaven. Our lives are for his glory. He is the audience of our lives and we must seek his applause and his alone. We do not live to please ourselves. In that sense, we do not even live to please others. The applause and appreciation of man is a fickle thing. We live for God's glory alone.

But as we live for the glory and pleasure of God, we also live our lives in the service of others. This is not to say that we make ourselves slaves to the opinions or approval of others, but that as Christ laid down his life for us, so we lay down our lives for others. We serve them. We bless them. We seek to lead them to Christ and help them grow in his grace.

We are servants first of God and then of other people.

In this specific context, Paul is talking about the way we express our freedom in Christ. In chapter 14, he talked about how each of us has the freedom to live by our conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and that it is okay for us to have different beliefs and convictions about items like diet (personal preferences) and Sabbaths (observance of OT laws).

But Paul wants to make it clear that he is not saying we should simply live to please ourselves, do what we want and disregard others. No, we are to be more concerned about the spiritual health of others than we are about the freedom of our own conscience. If it hinders the spiritual growth of a fellow-believer, Paul says, he will give up just about anything, even food and drink (fairly necessary things). The spiritual prosperity of others meant more to him than his own freedom!

Father, may I live my life for you and give myself for the growth and health of others in the body of Christ, not just my own pleasure. Make my life a blessing.