Knowing Our Place

That none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.

1 Corinthians 4:6

NBC news commentator Tim Russert described a meeting he had with Pope John Paul II. The pope put his arm around Russert and said, “You are from NBC. They tell me you’re a very important man.” Taken aback, Russert said, “Your Holiness, there are only two of us in this room, and I am certainly a distant second.” The pope looked at him and said, “Right.”

A degree of humility can keep us from stumbling in social settings. Humility is not only key in social settings but in spiritual service as well. As the writer of Proverbs said, “Pride goes before destruction” (16:18). Christians have been given the inestimable privilege of receiving gifts of grace from God—spiritual enablements that make it possible for us to serve Him in carrying out the ministry of Jesus.

And if that isn’t enough, someday we’ll be given rewards in heaven for using those gifts faithfully! God provides the gifts, the power to use them, and the rewards. Where is the room for pride in such a plan? Our place is to humbly receive and employ what God has graciously given.

The Christian who knows his place is the one whose place God will make known.