Romans 12:3a. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.
All of us struggle with conceit. We all tend to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. Most of us, including myself, have a way bigger superiority problem than an inferiority problem. In fact, conceit was a problem in almost every church that Paul wrote to. If you don’t think you are conceited, then you are probably conceited.
One of the ways to know if you are conceited or not is to look at your relationships, your community. How do you do church? How do you interact with others at your church? Is your relationship primarily consumeristic? Well then, that is a sign of conceit.
When you think about deep Christian community, doing life together, and incarnational living do you tend to deny your need for this? Do you avoid group life because you are afraid of opening up with others? Of being authentic? Do you tend to walk away from hard relationships? Do you tend to only be around people that agree with you?
When it comes to the idea of a small group community, or a support group, or a class, what prevents you from considering it? Is it fear? Is it superiority? Is it inferiority? Is it busyness?
Look at what Paul says at the end of Romans 12:3.
Romans 12:3b. think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Are you living from the measure of faith that God has given to you? Or are you stifling that faith? Hiding it under a bushel? Keeping it to yourself?
Are you conceited? Me too. By God’s grace I don’t want to be. I don’t want to shrink into my own self. I want to know and be known. To risk. To love.
