“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.”
be courteous
“Courteous” is humble-mindedness. This word comes from two words humble and minded. This is to have a modest opinion of self. We are a creature, not the Creator. We utterly depend on God. In ourselves we can do nothing. Our standard of comparison is God Himself, and that is why we are humble.
“Courteous” means literally humility of mind. Such a person has no illusion about himself or herself. Because such a person is free from pride, he or she is also free from trying to impress other people.
Principle:
God expects us to have an attitude of humility toward other Christians.
Application:
A humble-minded person treats others with grace. Gracious thinking leads to gracious action. If you are a gracious thinker, you will treat others with grace because of how you view yourself. Even if they are rotten people, gracious thinking will produce gracious action.
Humble-minded people do not treat others on the basis of what they think. They do not lower their thinking to what others are thinking. They do not lower themselves to others’ level. They forgive as Christ forgave. They do not hold things against others. They do not allow themselves to get into a feud. They are never bitter toward others. People who possess a humble mind demonstrate poise and confidence.
We can always compare down to people who have not reached our level. We have nothing to fear from this comparison. However, the Christian standard of comparison is Christ.
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