Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
By Paula J. Marolewski
It’s so easy to remain where we are comfortable. Our rounds
of church, work, friends, and family are reassuring, pleasant,
and peaceful.
But Paul urges us in Romans 12:16 to get out of the comfort zone
where we talk and interact with people “just like us” day
after day. He urges us to “associate with the lowly.”
Associate with the lowly. Why would Paul find this point important
enough to include in the magnificent litany that makes up Romans
12? Consider these seven powerful reasons:
- First, Jesus named this
as one of the criteria for divine judgment. He said, “inasmuch as you have done so to the least
of my brethren, you have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).
Visiting the sick. The poor. The prisoners.
- Second, because associating
with people of low position helps us become like Christ … who
was willing to associate with us.
- Third, it breaks down pride
where it secretly lurks in our heart. It reveals and confronts
prejudices we may not have been willing to admit to ourselves.
- Fourth, it lets us serve when there is basically no chance
of reward or recognition – and that is the test of true
service: are we serving to be noticed, or are we serving to minister
to the needs of others?
- Fifth, it confronts the world’s
value system that follows after fame and fortune. It proclaims
a new direction in which to pour your energy: into the hurting,
into the needy, into people whom the world says are nameless
and faceless.
- Sixth, it restores dignity to the people “of low
position.” Serving others lets them know they are important – to
you and to God. And that will draw them into the kingdom of heaven.
- Seventh, it brings the kingdom of God on earth. It reverses
some of the evil in the world, challenging it and vanquishing
it.
So get out of your comfort zone. Serve the people whom the world
ignores and debases. Why? Because Jesus himself did not come to
be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many
(Mark 10:45).
© 2008 Paula Marolewski
Article Source: http://www.sinkyourroots.com
About the Author:
Paula J. Marolewski provides challenging and interactive adult Bible
studies for individuals, Bible studies, small groups, and adult Sunday School
classes at Sink Your Roots. The above
article is an excerpt from Running
the Race. |
