“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 humility of mind literally. This person has no allusion about themselves. This is an attitude where this person is free from pride. Therefore, this person is 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. Grace thinking leads to grace action. If you are a grace thinker, you will treat others in grace because of how you view yourself. They may be rotten people, but grace thinking will produce grace action.
This person does not treat others based on what they think. He does not lower his thinking to their thinking. He does not lower himself to their level. He forgives as Christ forgives. He does not hold things against others. He will not allow himself to get into a feud. He is never bitter toward others. A person who possesses a humble mind demonstrates 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.
