Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. – Romans 12:16
The season after the Los Angeles Lakers had won the 1980 World Championship, the team experienced a major loss. Within weeks of the season opener, Magic Johnson tore the cartilage in his knee and would be out for months. The team drew together, the fans rallied, and the Lakers were winning seventy percent of their games. As Magic healed and his return grew closer, publicity surrounding him increased. All the attention seemed focused on the one playing who hadn’t done anything for the season. When he did come back to the court, the arena rocked with a standing ovation. Meanwhile, the players who had carried the team for months felt ignored, became jealous, resentful, angry and envious.
They barely won the game that night and eventually the morale of the team collapsed. They turned on each other. The coach was fired. And they lost in the first round of the playoffs. Coach Pat Riley said, “Because of greed, pettiness, and resentment, we executed one of the fastest falls from grace in NBA history. It was the Disease of Me.”
God’s big idea for His Church is that Christ followers would live in harmony with one another. It is essential for the health of the Church. Harmony requires humility. The “disease of me” is pride… the soil out of which all sins grow. When Saint Augustine was asked to list the principles of the Christian life, he answered, “First, humility. Second, humility. Third, humility.”
Pray for a spirit of humility to reenter the Church in America. Pray for pastors, lay leaders, and your fellow worshippers; and pray that the Lord reveal any pride in you. All are sinners saved by grace.
Today’s Verse: Romans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: 3 John 1:2-11
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
