Romans 12:10

8 ^ahe who exhorts, in exhortation; ^bhe who gives, with liberality; ^che who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, ^dwith cheerfulness.

Behave Like a Christian

9 ^aLet love be without hypocrisy. ^bAbhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

10 ^aBe kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, ^bin honor giving preference to one another;

11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

12 ^arejoicing in hope, ^bpatient in tribulation, ^ccontinuing steadfastly in prayer;

13 ^adistributing to the needs of the saints, ^bgiven to hospitality.

14 ^aBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

15 ^aRejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

16 ^aBe of the same mind toward one another. ^bDo not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Romans 12:10 Mean?

Prefer others over ourselves in humility, abasing ourselves to let him do his job and considering him as over us. Say he is the knee and we are the toe: each follows when the other must perform its function. We each have areas of responsibility; leave one another alone to do jobs and give precedence, so all work gets done without stepping on each other. Follow when cooperation requires it, lead when it requires that. No need to fight or worry about others' jobs. When each does his part well, the whole body moves forward.

Romans 12:9-11

The Greek word underlying “fervent” is zeō, which at its root means “to boil; seethe.” The apostle Paul instructs us in this passage to “run hot” in using God's Spirit to serve God and others at all times—even when the spiritual climate around us has gone cold. Fervent application of God's way of life, lived through following the urgings of the Holy Spirit, will help us to prepare and endure.

Jesus tells the disciples in John 15:13, “Greater love [agapē] has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” To God, that is how far our loving service should go for our brethren. It does not have to mean that we literally die for them, though it could. The idea here is similar to what Paul writes in Romans 12:1 about being “a living sacrifice.” That is, we lay aside what we may want to do at a given time to help a brother or sister in his or her time of need.

What if we lack that kind of selflessness? The apostle John writes in I John 4:8 that “God is love [agapē].” He is its Source, and we must study Him and go to Him for help in growing in it.

John Reiss
Waxing Cold

Romans 12:10

We are to prefer others over ourselves. We, in humility, ought to abase ourselves and let him do his job, because in the scheme of things, we are to consider him as over us. Say, he is the knee, and we are the toe. The knee has a function, and when the knee needs to perform its function, the toe must follow. However, when the toe must do its job, the knee should take orders from the toe. We each have our areas of responsibility, and if we leave each other alone to do our jobs and give the other precedence in doing his job, then maybe we will all get the work done. We will not be stepping on his job, and he will not stepping on ours. When we need his cooperation, he follows us, and when he needs our cooperation, we follow him. There is no need to fight. Everyone just does his job. When we must follow, follow, and when we must lead, lead. That is how it works. We have no need to worry about other people's jobs. They will get done. If they are doing theirs well, and we are doing ours well, then the whole body, the church, moves forward.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Psalm 133 (1998)

Related Topics: Body Analogy | Body Metaphor | Cooperation | Humility | Responsibility, Sense of

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