Romans 12:3-8

³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

I'll keep my thoughts on this passage brief as I really think in many ways the word of God can speak for itself.

I think that vs 3 has been taught and memorized by many Christians and yet I often find it one of the most hardest passages to apply to my own life.

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you"

It is terribly easy for me to be a proud woman whether that pride falls into the overtly "how could such and such " mindset or the self piteous "I'm so worthless." mindset.  I have a hard time not thinking of myself more highly than I ought.

I think Christians would serve more, if we truly placed into practice this vs. And while i have often seen people treat the latter verses as an excuse not to serve "well I just don't have the gift of...."  I think this verse was always meant to be considered into the latter verses as well. Because what really keeps us from serving even in areas we aren't necessarily gifted for? It is usually our pride. Our pride that we'll look foolish, the pride of what others will say about us, and our inner desire to be people pleasers. But in verse 3 Paul tells us not to think of ourselfs more highly but in accordance with the Faith God has given us we are to serve others.

I am continually amazed at what Faith can do in a believers life, the faith that there is more at work than just ourselfs, that God really does has a plan, that he really does desire to use us, that he really has prepared good works for us to do. If we really live in that faith, in that trust, that love really has covered a multitude of sins, that Jesus really is enough, Faith really can do many things in our  lives including getting us to serve in ways we don't necessarily feel designed to do.

So this week I am trying to place these verses into practice...and I'll start by not thinking that myself and my own comforts are greater than the needs of my family. I think that is a great place to start.