Being of one mind

An Emoji Devotions for Tue 10th August, 2021

Topic: Being of the same mind

by H.U. Wenger

Highlights:

Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. (Romans 12:16 KJV)

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12:16 NIV)

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:3 – 5)

Who is the greatest among us? Wherever there is a group of people, it is a very natural question that unconsciously pops up in the mind of the persons involved. What place do I have in this group? Am I bottom? Am I top? What is my role in the group? The Bible tells us to be of the same mind towards one another, or to live in harmony with one another. Could it be that there is a reason why the New International Version chose a more neutral phrase for the same Greek expression? The King James Version is closer to the Greek text. Be of the same mind has a connotation of consolidation of institutional powers. One person or a group of persons decrees how everybody has to think and whoever dares to think otherwise violates the unwritten law. Unfortunately the pattern is way too common in religious groups. The people in power are not allowed to be challenged or questioned. Whatever they decree is law for the group and delinquency is severely punished. Our highlight and the context thereof depict a pattern that is totally opposite to the slavery of mind.

Being of the same mind, concerns above all the quality of relationship. Do I look down on the people around me, or do I hold them in high esteem regardless of their social status? In 1991 I went to Colorado for a study in counseling. The first intern I got assigned to was a woman, who was about seven years younger than me. I was disappointed, asking myself what a younger woman could possibly teach me. I was not humble at all I did not value her above me. In fact I looked down on her believing that I could not learn from her. Boy, did she correct my attitude even in my first session with her. I got totally humiliated, not by her, she treated me with respect and high esteem, but by the Lord, who showed me how conceited and selfish I was. I am telling you that story to show how easily we can fall into the trap. I would not have any problem to list many more of my failures. Being of one mind means: to have a higher esteem for the other person than for myself. I may think very different about many issues. That is fine. When it comes to the thinking about the people around me I should be of one mind towards the other, the mind Christ Jesus has towards me, the mind that asks not for my best interest, but for the best interest of the other.

How can I be of service or of help for the other person? This is the question that helps to live out the mindset of our Lord. My own experience tells me that this comes not naturally. So easily we regard ourselves above others. We need to put our thinking under the obedience of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, you came into our world as the son of the most high, but you served all of us and saved us. Please let me be of the same mind towards all of my fellow human beings. Help me to see and to treat everybody around me with a higher esteem than I have for myself. Let me be salt of the earth and light to the world. Amen