People are the WORST | Real Superhero Living

That series led us through the first half of Romans chapter 12, and today, we begin a new series through the latter half of Romans 12 titled “People Are the Worst!”

Don’t you love that title?

In the second half of Romans 12, the Apostle Paul outlines a road map for how trusting Jesus can influence our best actions to people when they show up with their worst.

Who has ever experienced someone’s worst?

Yes, all of us!

Who has ever given someone their worst?

Yes, all of us!

Recently, while I awaited to board a plane for my return trip home from Atlanta, the gate agent announced that no more roller boards would be allowed in the overhead bins, to which the gentlemen behind me started dropping F bombs like a WW2 bomber as if this announcement only affected him.

Cmon man!

The other morning, while taking my kids on a scooter walk around our neighborhood, I rolled my baby daughter Eden’s scooter over a gigantic pile of dog poop right in the middle of the sidewalk… so big, in fact, that I wondered if someone had been walking their pet rhinoceros.

People are the worst, aren’t they?

But guess what, we’re people.

We’ve all experienced the worst of people and have also given our worst.

Which begs the question: when people show up with their worst, what do you do?

Do you show up with an equal or worse response?

Do you ignore it, altogether? Are you passive?

Or, do you show up with your best?

I’m inclined to think based on our shared human experience that we probably don’t often choose to show up with our best when people give us their worst.

In fact, we probably show up with less than our best, right?

We retaliate.

We mismanage our emotions.

We lose control of our thoughts and give others way too much of our mind’s attention.

We gossip.

We vent on others.

Sometimes, we might even harm someone else completely unrelated to the situation because we don’t know how to process what we just experienced.

We respond in all kinds of ways. Some of us right now may even be harboring resentment in our hearts from someone’s worst done years ago.

A moment ago, I listed surface level moments when strangers gave me their worst, but what do you do when a colleague, a friend, or even someone part of our Christ Journey familia gives you their worst? Or worse yet, how do you respond when a trusted loved one gives you their worst?

These kinds of behaviors can change the course of a person’s life, as many of us have either experienced ourselves or witnessed.

As a side note: to heal from someone’s worst done against you may require the trained skills of a pastor or therapist - in addition to devotional prayer, worship, and reading God’s Word.

This message may trigger past trauma for you, and if so, then on behalf of your pastors, we would be honored to join you on your journey to restoration and connect you with resources to assist you.

One of those resources is a weekly community called Renew that helps people discover freedom from hurts, habits, and hang-ups.

***Show Renew Slide

If during the course of the message you feel the Spirit’s nudge to learn more about Renew or speak with a Pastor, then please feel free to contact us at christjourney.org/connect and one of our pastors will respond to you within 24 hours.

This message today won’t be addressing past traumas. We have dealt with that topic in the past and will certainly do it again in the future, but today, we are seeking to answer the question: what do you do when someone splashes their bad day, bad decision, or bad words all over you?

Do you respond with your worst, or do you show up with your best?

We don’t control much in this life, but God granted us the freedom to decide how we respond to others.

Do you live on the ground level, feeling the full force of the hurricane’s wind against you, or do you rise above someone’s worst into superhero status, bullet-proof, high-flying living?

Is that kind of life even possible?

According to God’s Word, every believer has superhero potential coarsing through your veins through the power of God’s Spirit alive in you, so how might you cultivate the kind of life that shows your witness to God’s kingdom, while maintaining healthy emotional stability that offers your best in every situation?

The Apostle Paul outlines two primary changes in Romans chapter 12 that every believer undergoes to live your best superhero life in Christ.

First, we change the way we think about our attitude from the self to Jesus.

Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

The war wages here. Our identity begins here, our thoughts live here, our words and opinions and perceptions of reality are formed here, so ground zero for God’s sanctifying work starts right here in the life of every believer.

Paul said it like this in Philippians chapter 2:

Philippians 2:3-4, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

As we offer our lives to God, we become transformed by consciously choosing to create new patterns of thoughts and behaviors.

Now, thank God that he didn’t leave us to do this on our own. He gave us His Holy Spirit to help us. By ourselves, we can’t stop the hurricane force of our thoughts. We need an anchor to secure our lives, and God provided that to us through the person of the Holy Spirit who inhabits the life of every Christian upon their first confession of faith.

This is a promise that Jesus gave to us on the night before he went to the cross, saying:

***If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17

Then, the second change that Paul outlines in Romans 12 is second, we change how we view others through Christ’s transformational work in us.

As God’s Spirit changes us more and more into Christ’s likeness and character, then more and more we learn how to view others through Jesus’ compassionate eyes.

Becoming transformed into Christ’s likeness doesn’t make us better than others. We’re all fatally flawed in the image of God.

The only difference is that for some of us, we have turned from our own way back to our Heavenly Father by placing our trust in Christ the Son for the forgiveness of our sins.

We’re all terminal. We’re all in need, but for Christians, a bad day presents a superhero opportunity to help another terminal soul find and follow their Savior back to their Heavenly Father! Amen?!

Now, as we turn our attention in this series to the latter half of Romans 12, the Apostle Paul transitions his teaching from attitude to practical, hand-on actions that flow from a life saved by Jesus:

Paul wrote in Romans 12:9-11:

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.

To pretend is to lie. Don’t lie to yourself. Sometimes, we’re the easiest ones to deceive. Truth is founded on love. If you can reciprocate truth with another human being, even a stranger, then you will know that God’s spiritual fruit of love is bearing forth in your life.

Paul continues:

Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Here, Paul gets so practical to life. If you hate anything, Paul says, hate the opposite of what Jesus loves. What does Jesus love? He loves people and hates anything that harms people, which God’s Word calls sin. Sin unravels the restorative work of Jesus. It breaks creation and breaks our lives apart.

Paul says hate the wrong sin in your life, and instead, ‘hold tightly to what is good.’ What is good?

The Old Testament prophet Micah defined good for God’s people, saying

“O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, [[[meaning withhold your punishment from what people deserve]]] and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

If you do right, then you won’t need to fear anyone or anything because your conscience will be clean. You won’t need to look over your shoulder or try to remember the thread of your lie.

If you love mercy, then you won’t need to carry the burden of another person’s wrong because you forgave “just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

If you walk humbly with your God, then you won’t need to concern yourself with being God.

The goodness of Christ’s salvation work restores creation back together to pursue love and honor with pure delight.

The Greek word that Paul chose for delight only appears in this one single verse in the entire New Testament and quite literally means “to go first and lead the way.”

This word, προηγέομαι, [[[pro - gay - o - my]]] often gets translated as ‘delight’ because when you delight in someone or something, then you pursue that person or thing, right? You lead the way.

The Christian Standard Bible, a more literal translation of the original languages says, “Take the lead in honoring one another” Romans 12:10, so perhaps a closer reading of what the Apostle Paul intended is to ‘lead the way’ in love and honor.

This week, when you walk into a meeting or sit down for a meal with your friends or family, make it your mission to honor the ones in your presence before anyone else. If someone shows their worst to you, what if you chose to show honor to them.

Now, I am not talking about casting your pearls before swine, but I am challenging us to see someone’s bad day as an opportunity to live your superhero life.

This passage closes in verses 12 and 13, stating:

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”

Do these things, Paul says, and you’ll be bulletproof against whatever bad day or bad decision or bad words someone gives you.

Romans 12 is the how-to manual for the good life, but it ain’t always easy, right?

Humble, servant-hearted love feels so counterintuitive on the surface.

When people splash their bad day all over me, my gut reaction doesn’t want to hold tight to the goodness of Jesus. Rather, I feel like giving control to my Irish heritage. My Irish roots run deep into the soil of anger, aggression.

When I step into a pile of dog feces, the old man in me feels entirely justified to give my worst response back to the person who offended me!

But when we follow our pride, the journey doesn’t end on Redemption Road. Pride ends in divorce, termination, ruined friendships, estranged kids who don’t want anything to do with you, and spiraling emotional health.

Is justifying your pride worth more than every good thing in your life?

I think that’s what Jesus meant when he said, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” Matthew 16:25

When all that old sinful, devilish pride rises up in you, don’t give a single moment of your precious life to it.

Easier said than done, right? It certainly is, but your old sinful self no longer holds any power over you in Christ Jesus.

[[[recite from memory]]]

Galatians 2:20, says: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul wrote this verse in what many regard as his very first recorded letter, so like this letter, let this verse be your first thought every day. Memorize it, and hold it in your heart.

We receive Christ’s death by faith as our own to satisfy the consequence of death for our sin. We can’t do anything to earn this. His sacrifice covers our lives in his grace. Jesus traded our death for his life so that we might live forever reconciled and restored to our Heavenly Father.

This is your starting point for living the superhero, bullet-proof, high-flying kind of life! When people show up with their worst, we show up with our best.

How do we do this?

First, Remember who lives in you. You are terminal, but in Christ, your soul lives forever, so live and lead with eternity in mind. Let your Father’s kingdom and promised inheritance guide your response in the here and now.

Second, Be honest with yourself. Stay present in the truth about your thoughts and emotions. Invite God’s Spirit to show you areas in your life that need the light of his truth. As your honesty grows, so also will your self-awareness of God’s grace for yourself and others.

Third, Play the long game. Don’t define someone by a bad day. We all have them from time to time. Our awareness of God’s grace reminds us that God didn’t condemn us because of our bad days. Rather, he moved closer and gave more, so let’s do the same for others by giving them the same benefit of grace that God gave us in Christ Jesus.

Fourth, Have proper confidence in yourself. Nothing can remove Christ’s Spirit alive in you nor revoke his promises for you.

The author of Hebrews said it like this: “So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” Hebrews 13:6

Nothing, because you have been given superhero status, bulletproof, high-flying capability, so when someone gives you their worst, show up with your best.

You will lose nothing, except your pride, and gain everything good in life.

Finally, Be the change you want to see in your part of the world. Jesus called you leaven to raise the bread of our city loaf! He didn’t say that about any government, education system, or non-profit. He said that about you! If you want to see transformation happen in your part of our world, then practice the Romans 12 life in every part of your life and move from selfishness to servanthood. Servanthood doesn’t mean servitude. It means that my powers are here to help. Are you willing to help? Servanthood is how we honor Christ and one another.

Our House is made up of attenders from every neighborhood in our city, so let’s do our part beside every other Christ-centered church, to raise our city loaf by helping people find and follow the one who set us free from our worst days.

This vision is our responsibility to own, and it’s not as far away as you might think because it begins right here [[[point to the mind]]] in your mind, in your home, in your workplace, schools, and recreation, on the highways for goodness sake, in the grocery stores, the airports, and the shopping centers.

Sometimes, the smallest, most obvious opportunities make the biggest difference. Don’t get snagged by thinking that you need to save the world.

Living the superhero life means being patient in affliction, prayerful in difficulty, and honoring those who don’t deserve it.

Plain and simple. When people give you their worst, show up with your best, and as a result, both lives change, but guess what? If you make an enemy along the way - or someone decides not to like you because you gave them your best, instead of what they expected - then as Winston Churchill once said, “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

Those in your circles of influence need you to stand up for what you believe. They may not know it yet, but they need someone to model, mentor, and multiply Romans 12 in their lives, so let me invite you to stand now as we close with a reading of Romans 12:9-13 -

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.