Jesus came to save you as a member of a family, as part of a body, called out to live as a member of the church. And you express church life through a “thick” community.
Frankly, I find it hard to connect with people at church. Sunday mornings are not set up for developing deep relationships. Nevertheless, I want to experience the thick community described in the NT, even if I find it hard to imagine what that might be like. So to enlarge my imagination, I started studying the many “one-another” commands of the NT.
One is found in Rom 12:16:
“Be of the same mind toward one another.”
In several places, Paul called the believers to be of one mind, or of the same mind, but without using the phrase “one another” (e.g., 2 Cor 13:11; Phil 2:2; 3:16). Obviously, he thought this very important for church life. But what, exactly, does it mean?
The NEB translates in this way: “Have equal regard for one another.”
In other words, this is not about what you believe about God, but what you believe about others.
Do you regard everyone equally?
Society does not.
Instead, people are divided along every imaginable line—according to nation, race, tribe, religion, sex, education, marital status, employment, culture, neighborhood, and so forth. People even divide according to their favorite music or sports team! And everyone gets treated differently.
But in the gathered meeting things should be different. “Be of the same mind toward one another.”
Think about the people in your local church. How do you relate to them?
Do you play favorites? Do you treat some better than others? Do you silently judge some of the people around you but then think highly of others? Are you holding grudges that get in the way of wanting to fellowship with a brother or sister in Christ? And what is your opinion of yourself compared to everyone else?
The Christian mindset should be different. As Paul explained in the previous verses, being of the same mind toward one another means sincerely loving your fellow believers no matter who they are (v 9a), treating them like family (v 10), sharing with them (v 13), and empathizing with their joys and sorrows (v 15). Paul wants the whole community to have that mindset. (Of course, Paul assumes you’ll actually know the people enough to share their joys and sorrows and needs.)
On the other hand, Paul also warned against self-centeredness, and having too high an opinion of yourself (v 16c), which works against having a mindset of equal regard. The antidote to that kind of pride is to “associate with the humble” (v 16b). In other words, do not gravitate to the rich and powerful and socially attractive, but to the lowly and overlooked.
Romans 12:16 shows that changing your mind about the very nature of church community includes changing your mind about the people around you so that you see them, not as Sunday morning strangers, but as beloved family.
