Self-Evaluation || Romans 12:3 || Weekend Wind-Down #9

Welcome to the ninth week of “Weekend Wind-Down.” This series is where we take the verse of the day, look at the face value interpretation, check the background and context of the verse, do a deeper dive on the focus scripture, and figure out what we can walk away with. 

Today’s verse is Romans 12:3, which says this: 

3 – Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 

Face Value

Be humble. Be honest about who you are, using the metrics that align yourself with God.

Background

Paul wrote this letter to introduce himself and share his message’s core before he arrived. Our verse for today falls in Paul’s conservation about how we should behave. Paul gives clear and practical guidelines for his Roman audience. The Christian life is not fuzzy by nature; it involves practical implications that will affect our behaviors. It’s not just about knowing the Gospels but allowing them to change how we view life.

Deep Dive

Healthy self-esteem is essential. Some of us think too little of ourselves, while others overthink. Honest and accurate self-evaluation comes from knowing the basis of our self-worth, and that’s our identity in Jesus. Evaluating yourself by worldly standards of success and achievement can cause you to overthink your worth in the eyes of others and thus miss your actual value in God’s eyes. 

1 Corinthians 12:11 says this:

11 – It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. 

The Holy Spirit distributes all spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit decides which gifts we should get. Our job is to use and sharpen our gifts, but we can take no credit for what God has freely given us. Talking about spiritual gifts can be difficult when these key points get overlooked:

• Properly used, spiritual gifts aren’t self-serving but serve the whole body of Christ.
• Each gift becomes practically useless when used without love. 

As we seek to identify and utilize the gifts God has given us, we should make loving God and others our highest motivation. 

Take-Home Point

We should evaluate ourselves frequently to ensure our lives follow the “Love God and love others” mindset. How we evaluate ourselves can be that simple if that mindset guides us. We can look at the gifts the Holy Spirit gives us and reflect on how we’re using them. If we’re using them correctly, we follow the 1 Corinthians passage: they serve the body of Christ and get used to loving others. If we’re not, we must reflect on where we can improve by using our identity in Jesus as our foundation. When we reflect on our states of being, we must look at the facets of who we are through Jesus Christ. Jesus points out the honesty and accuracy of being a Christian with a proper “Love God and Love Others” mindset. 

Thank you for joining me for this Weekend Wind-Down as we explored how to evaluate ourselves through the teachings of Paul in Romans and 1 Corinthians. Stay tuned for the next reflection. Let me close out with prayer. 

Loving God, thank you for the ability to sit back and reflect on how we are both human beings and Christians. Thank you for bringing us the standard of how to be both through Jesus Christ. Please help me to be honest as I reflect on my being. Please help me to find those flaws that may make me uncomfortable to work on because my weaknesses are where your strength shines the most. In your loving name, we pray. Amen.