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Begin by reading 1 Corinthians 9
Paul tells us in Romans 12:3 that we ought to have sober judgment about ourselves. When I think of that word sober, I immediately think of alcohol. My brother, who is involved in law enforcement, often talks about people getting arrested because they had a little too much “liquid courage.” You may have heard that phrase before. Sometimes people drink, get out of control, and start thinking they can do all sorts of things. Often times they wake up with a cold dose of reality that includes a hangover and a prison cell.
In this passage, Paul isn’t talking about alcohol so to speak, but he is telling us to be realistic about ourselves. He is instructing us to be sober minded, not to think we can do everything, but to be humble and realistic.
Humility is something we hear often as Believers, but I think we struggle at practicing it correctly. It’s difficult for us to accept praise from people, because we don’t want to be prideful, or appear prideful, or risk letting praise go to our heads. If you’re like me, when someone tells you that you did a nice job (especially when it comes to a work for the church), it makes you feel slightly uncomfortable. How should we respond? Should we say something like, “It’s not me; it’s the Lord?” Or maybe we should pretend like they didn’t say anything? Maybe we ought to just say “thank you?”
So often, we’re so afraid of appearing prideful that we take the other route. We put ourselves down. When someone says, “You have the gift; I think you would be great at it.” We may respond by saying, “No, I can’t do anything.” This is called false-humility. It’s not being humble; it’s putting yourself down in order to not appear prideful. Ken Blanchard explains, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself. Humility is thinking of yourself less.”
In today’s reading we see a confident Paul. I know some people find Paul to be arrogant, and what he tells the Church at Corinth may be fuel for that fire. He basically says, “I have seen Jesus. I know what He’s called me to do. And you are the fruit of my labor which confirms that calling.” That’s a pretty brazen statement to make. But while some call this arrogance, I call it confidence. Paul understood what his gifts were (and what they were not), and he was determined to use those gifts – not for the praise of man, but to glorify God. If we met a person like Paul in our office, we might say he was passionate and driven to excel at the tasks given him.
We can take a cue from Paul regarding what it means to soberly judge ourselves. We have to understand both the gifts God has given us as well as our limitations. Then we are to work not for the praises of men but to glorify our Father who is in heaven. The purpose of our service is not to impress others but to be a living sacrifice for the Lord.
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