Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:13-15
Day after day on the news, pride, greed, and lies are paraded before us. It seems as if God is holding up our own worst sins and showing us how ugly they are.
Across our nation many are asking, who are the people we can trust? Where are the humble, the truthful, and the generous? In Romans 12, God says, “This is what I’m calling you to pursue…”
Do not be haughty (12:16).
Bless and do not curse (12:14).
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (12:21).
When you turn off the television and open Romans 12, you are moving into another world. Our country desperately needs people who belong to this other world and who will bring its good into this world. Our calling is to not be overcome by evil. Don’t go the way of this world and slide into the pride, the greed, and the lies that you see around you. Overcome evil with good!
We are discovering what that looks like. It begins with genuine love: “Let love be genuine” (12:9). Overcoming evil with good calls for energetic engagement: “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (12:11). And overcoming evil requires steady tenacity: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (12:12).
Now Paul shows us how this mindset manifests itself in action: “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (12:13-15).
As you consider Romans 12:13-15, where are you active? Inactive?