Read Romans 12:3–5

One of my favourite stories is about a group of children who couldn’t get along while playing in their clubhouse. So they decided to come up with a set of rules by which everyone could abide. Here they are:

Rule #1: Nobody act big!
Rule #2: Nobody act little!
Rule #3: Everybody act medium!

I love that! Sadly too many adults fail to keep the second rule.

The reason why labeling someone as “little” is demeaning is because “little” implies much more than being short. It suggests being petty, lacking in great-heartedness, having a mind that is restrictive, suspicious, envious, spiteful. On the other hand, “big” people are seen as more powerful, capable of strong leadership. They often flaunt their bigness in a form of pride and self-glossing.

Neither pleases God. Here’s a better approach that Paul took:

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. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (Romans 12:3–5)

Perhaps the better question is this: Is your faith little or is it big? That’s a better standard by which to measure you. If your faith is little, ask the Lord to increase it. If your faith is big, use it to challenge others to greater levels of confidence in the Lord.

Now that’s more like it, don’t you agree?

Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.

The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.