Romans 12: Part 21

 Romans 12: Part 21

After telling us to "be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone", Paul goes on to write "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" in verse 18.

After all this time of giving reminders that Paul (or Jesus or whoever was speaking) did NOT give qualifiers to their command, we have qualifiers with this command! The base command is "live at peace with everyone", but it is preceded by two qualifiers, "If it is possible," and "as far as it depends on you,".

Paul knows that sometimes we will try to live at peace with everyone, but we can't control other people. We can only control ourselves and our responses. We can't make another person happy or sad, but we can treat them well or poorly. We are responsible for our emotions and our responses, and other people are responsible for their emotions and their responses. 

Yet, we shouldn't be hasty in writing off large groups of people as "impossible to live at peace with". Paul didn't say "live at peace with everyone from your nation". Everyone is broader than that. Paul didn't say "live at peace with everyone who shares your religion or political affiliations". Everyone is broader than that. It is our human nature, not our spiritual nature, that tries to limit our definition of "everyone". 

But throughout the Bible, God has been broadening our definition of a neighbor, of those we care for, of those we love. So instead of just loving those we like, those who look like us, those who share similar religious or political ties, let us love everyone. Let us love the foreigner just as well as we love the native-born. Let us live at peace with people of different religions and political parties, just as well as we live at peace within our own clique. Let us pray for those who mistreat us and mock us, just as much as we pray for those we like and love. 

But if we can, if it is in our power to do so, we should live at peace with everyone. This verse doesn't come with a promise. Paul doesn't add "and I guarantee you won't be hurt, mocked, killed, or taken advantage of". But we can choose to love our enemies, even when we are being mocked. We can pray for our persecutors, even when we are being threatened. We can pray for those asking for help, even when we doubt their sincerity. 

Questions to Wrestle With

Take time this week to consider: 

-How do you do with the base command "live at peace with everyone"?

-How often do you think it is impossible to live at peace with a group of people? 

-How much does living at peace with everyone depend on you? What is in your control when it comes to living at peace with everyone? 

-How do you tend to narrow down "everyone" so you just live at peace with those you like, who look like you, or who believe like you? 

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Romans 12: Part 20

Romans 12: Part 20

After telling us that we should "not repay anyone evil for evil", Paul goes on to write that we should "be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone" in the second part of verse 17. 

This is a harder passage today, because my initial interpretation is "we need to do what everyone sees as right", but everyone has a different version of what they think is right. So it seems impossible to live this out in our divided, polarized, and argumentative country and world. There are people with diametrically opposed views of what is right, so for us to do what is right in Person A's eyes, we are doing what is wrong in Person B's eyes. 

 It would be easier if Paul merely wrote "be careful to do what is right in the eyes of God". That is at least clear cut and definable. God has made it clear in His word that He wants us to love Him and love each other. Then He gave 613 examples (commandments) in the Old Testament to break this down further. Additionally, we have the commands of the New Testament to guide us as well. 

When a passage confuses us, we can look through different translations to shed new light on a confusing passage. On the Bible app on my phone, I can click "compare" and see the verse in every English translation. Yet for many commentaries, it is useful to go a bit old school in our translations. In the King James, this verse is translated as "Provide things honest in the sight of all men." and the New King James translates this verse as "Have regard for good things in the sight of all men".

We can also look into a few Bible commentaries on this verse (here and here). The first commentary (here), using the NKJV, interprets this passage as instructions to live by praising the good in the world. The commentator goes further and states that people should be able to tell what is good (and what is not good), based on our conduct. The second commentary (here), using the KJV, interprets this passage as we should do, study, plan to do, and intentionally do things that are good so that our actions will recommend our religion to everyone we interact with. 

After reading these commentaries, I can see where an alternative interpretation is possible. Instead of being "we need to do what everyone sees as right", it could be interpreted as "we need to do what is right in sight/view of everyone we meet". When we are confused with a passage, we shouldn't just shrug our shoulders and move on. We have resources available to us that can clarify, shed light, and widen our perspectives. 

Questions to Wrestle With

Take time this week to consider: 

-How have you been careful to do what is right in the sight of everyone? 

-Which translation of this verse makes the most sense for you? 

-How do the Bible commentaries shed additional light on this passage? 

-How can you apply this verse to your life? 

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.