Not Living Out of Tune

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

NOT LIVING OUT OF TUNE

Rom 12:14-16

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

NIV

It does seem a little weird to think about blessing those who persecute us because in this country we do not receive much if any, persecution. However, it is true that throughout the world there is much persecution of Christians, as it was at the time Paul wrote this letter. He received persecution in some of the cities where he preached the good news. Now, perhaps the reason we are not the subject of persecution is that we have blended into the world’s scene. That is we do not preach the good news at all, although we might mention God in our conversations with non-believers if, in fact, we actually have any conversations about spiritual matters at all with them. We have heard believers say that they think that just being a good person will get the attention of non-believers and they will ask why we are so good. Still, the fact remains that we should be blessing all people, and therefore not cursing them, or being judgmental of their behavior, for can we say that we are without sin. However, we still think that if we were to always preach the good news, telling people about the kingdom of God and how it is here and what they should do about it, we might experience some persecution. It is interesting that the first definition of the Greek word translated as persecute means to drive away, to make to run away, or flee. Maybe because some people push us away, not wanting to hear what we have to say about the kingdom of God, that would be some form of persecution. Now as far as the other words here, we do wonder if this rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn is restricted to the church. Could we not also rejoice with a non-believer who is rejoicing about a promotion at work? Could we not rejoice with a non-believer who has just had a baby? There are times when people can rejoice over something good that happens in their lives, and we should be rejoicing with them. On the other hand, there are times when believers and non-believers alike mourn about something that has happened in their lives. Again, it is interesting how the Greek can bring a different view. Not so much about rejoicing for being glad about someone is rejoicing, but to mourn means to weep with them, which is not sympathy, but rather empathy, to feel their pain, their sorrow, their hurts when one of those difficult times in life strikes. Because we think we should have these responses with both believers and non-believers alike because of what Paul says about being willing to associate with people of low position, which would be living in harmony with each other. Although he is writing to the church, it does not seem he is making the distinction between those who believe and those who do not. Yet, even in the church, it would appear there are those who think they have a higher position than others, or they are more important than others. We are reminded of the mother of James and John who wanted her sons to be honored above the other disciples. This is certainly not in harmony with each other. We could have spent a whole devotion on each of these phrases, and maybe we should expand on them in days to come. But for now, let us be aware and be wise about how we think of ourselves, and never find that conceit creeps into our thinking, and yes, even this blessing of others, rejoicing and mourning with others is a result of living in harmony, or not living out of tune.