1 Corinthians 4:6-7 (ESV)
[6] I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your
benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written,
that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. [7] For who
sees anything different in you? What do you have that
you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did
not receive it?
The
Romans lived in a society that exalted pride and scorned humility. The Greeks
sought for the perfect human mind and body. Intellect and Physique were
everything to them. The Romans carried on that mentality. Humility was for
women and slaves. Men were proud. Our culture isn’t all that different. We are
told that the only way to get ahead in this world is to push yourself ahead.
Think positive. Be proud of yourself and your accomplishments. Love yourself. If you want the world (your
boss, your customers, your fellow-workers) to think highly of you then you must
think highly of yourself. That was the mentality of the Roman world and it is
the mentality of our world today.
Most
of the self-help books espouse that idea. If you can perceive it, you can
achieve it. But that is not God’s standard nor is it his accepted method of
behavior for his disciples. That was not the basis of Jesus behavior while on
this earth and it is not how we as believers are to live. Jesus came not to be
served, but to serve (Mk 10:45). The world tells us to present ourselves as the
leader we want to be, but God calls us to the heart of a servant. “What do you
have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if
you did not receive it” (1 Cor 4:7)? All we are and all we have is a gift from
God. Let us then live then not as kings and masters of our own destiny, but as
servants and stewards of the Most High God.
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