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We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For even Christ did not please himself … (Romans 15:1-3)

Who gets to be pleased?  Whose preferences prevail?  Is it “my way or the highway”—or is there another, better way?

In Romans 14 and 15 Paul is addressing the church in Rome.  Remember, there was only one church in Rome, even though it was very likely organized around small house churches rather than one big meeting.  And in this one church there appear to have been two groups, those Paul refers to as “the strong” and those he identifies as “the weak.”  And Paul numbers himself among “the strong.”

There is some dispute as to the precise identities of these two groups.  It makes sense to me to see “the strong” as mainly Gentile believers who take a pretty relaxed approach to what they eat (pretty much anything and everything) and sit loose with respect to “special” days and holy days—after all, isn’t Jesus Lord of every single day?  “The weak” would then be primarily Jewish believers who just can’t see their way to jettisoning centuries of Torah observance, so if you bring a tasty pork dish to the after-worship fellowship meal, I’ll just have vegetables, thanks very much.  Maybe even sit at a different, segregated table.

We could go back and forth and all around about this forever, but notice what Paul does: when it comes to who gets pleased, whose standards and customs are preferred, Paul directs us to Jesus.  “Even Christ did not please himself …”

Think about it.  Take a crack at imagining what “the culture of heaven” might be like, think about what it’s like to live where God the Father’s will is done, fully, beautifully, all the time.

Now picture leaving there and coming to … Bethlehem.  Nazareth.  Calvary/Golgotha.  The world of Rome … the world of twenty-first century Chatham County, North Carolina.  When the Son of God walks into our world, do you think he may experience some “culture shock”?  “You know, this just isn’t the way we do things where, ahem, I’m from.”

Want to talk about privileges?  Jesus laid his down.  Want to discuss wealth and the status it conveys?  Jesus “made himself poor so that through him you might become rich.”  Want to talk about whose voice gets to be the loudest?  Jesus stood silent before his accusers.  Want to talk over who most deserves to be a leader?  Jesus washes feet not just dirty, but unworthy.  Want to talk about who gets dibs on the good life?  Jesus willingly went to Golgotha.

What if Chatham Community Church took a year to practice pleasing those among us who don’t usually get first-place pleasing?  Yes, we are to please our neighbors for their good, for their building up in the way of Christ; we’re not simply trading one set of personal preferences for another.  But if we decided to just go after this for a year, where would we start?

Sure, we would very likely overcorrect, might well go too far in some directions we’d then need to adjust … or would we?  How would you feel about coming to a church where everyone you met was committed to laying down his or her life for your good, for your true benefit, for your genuine growth in Christ?

Great news: whether we decide to do this as a church or not … you can get started on it … today.

Whom do you think might be “bottom of the totem pole” in our church?  Please pray for them—and for yourself in relation to them—now.

What’s an area where you see yourself as “strong”?  Who might need your strength to serve their growth in Christ?

What are some ways in which our church might be “strong”?  Who in Chatham County might benefit from our giving that strength to please and serve their good?  Pray for the ways God might want to connect our strengths to their needs.