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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
April 22
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Today's Pathway:
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In verse 16 Paul continues his discussion of the relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ. He first tells them to be of the same mind. There are two different ways to look at this. First, he may be telling his readers that they ought to be united and in harmony with each other. This idea is found in I Corinthians 1:10,
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
This is certainly something that believers ought to put into practice. However, it is also possible that he is referring back to his admonitions in verse 15 about weeping and rejoicing with our fellow church members, and saying that the mind that weeps and rejoices ought to be found in every person in the assembly. Either way, Biblical unity and fellowship ought to be the goal of every Christian.
Second, believers are told to not focus on the lofty ambitions of the world. "Mind not high things" simply means not thinking of high things. Albert Barnes wrote,
"That is, not seeking them, or aspiring after them. The connection shows that the apostle had in view those things which pertained to worldly offices and honors--wealth, and state, and grandeur. They were not to seek them for themselves; nor were they to court the society or the honors of the men in an elevated rank in life."
David spoke of this in Psalm 131:1,
"LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me."
Instead, the Christian ought to "condescend", which has the idea of "being led together" or "associating", to those of "low estate", which means people or things that are humble or common. Again, Barnes had a good explanation of this idea when he wrote,
"It means that Christians should seek the objects of interest and companionship not among the great, the rich, and the noble, but among the humble and the obscure. They should do it because their Master did it before them; because Christianity prompts to benevolence rather than to a fondness for pride and display; and because of the (bad) influence on the mind produced by an attempt to imitate the great, to seek the society of the rich, and to mingle with the scenes of gaiety, folly, and ambition."
Finally, Paul says to "be not wise in your own conceits". The basic idea here is that we should not think that we have all the answers, or that we are better than others. Pride is the root problem in all of verse 16. Proud people are not concerned with ministering to others or being united with them. The haughty and conceited man is probably much more interested in those people and materials that will make him appear to be someone special than he is in spending time with the common folks. Pride destroys lives, relationships, families, and churches. God hates it, and we need to repent of it if we are to accomplish what God has planned for us.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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