In Rom 12:10, Paul tells the believers in Rome to be “…kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” Paul wants them to manifest brotherly love towards each other. This would include understanding the worth of their fellow believers, as well as looking out for their welfare.
The last phrase is translated differently in different translations. The basic meaning is clear enough. A Christian should be quick to give honor to other Christians, rather than seeking honor for himself. The same idea is found in Phil 2:3, where Paul tells each Philippian believer to “esteem others better than himself.” If we could summarize the main idea of these two verses, it would be that the mature believer is one whose relationship with other believers is one of humility.
There is a well-known miniseries, originally broadcast on HBO, titled Band of Brothers. It tells the story of Easy Company, a unit within the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division during World War II. The miniseries does take some liberties with historical facts, but the men who made up Easy Company were real-life heroes. They were ordinary Americans who jumped out of airplanes and fought the Nazis in Europe. They were a part of what has been rightly called the “greatest generation” of Americans. Many of them were wounded. Many never returned home.
As part of the miniseries, some of the surviving men of Easy Company are interviewed. They are now in their 80s, but they remember what they went through on the battlefield. They also remember their friends—their “brothers”—who died in combat. Even though the interviews took place almost sixty years after the events of World War II, it is easy to hear, and sometimes see, how emotional those memories are for these men.
One of the highlights of these interviews is part of a letter one of these old soldiers wrote to his company commander. He said that his grandson once asked, “Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?” The old man said to the boy, “No, but I served with a company of heroes.”
I am sure of a few things. I know that Grandpa was a hero. I also know that he was thinking of his fellow soldiers who are buried in Europe and in small-town graveyards across the US. I am sure that he saw many of his “band of brothers” perform extraordinary acts of bravery. I do not doubt that some of those acts allowed him to survive the war. Grandpa was not being falsely modest. He was humbly acknowledging the honor that he knew the men of Easy Company deserved.
This is an illustration of what Paul discusses in Rom 12:10 and Phil 2:3. We should be able to see the worth of the believers in our assemblies and what they do for us and others. We can look at their gifts and how they use them. We should be quick to speak of the honor they deserve. We can recognize that they are heroes of the faith. Instead of seeking honor for ourselves, let’s heap it on our brothers and sisters in Christ.
If somebody ever asks us whether we know any great Christians, may we be quick to humbly say, “I know and serve with a bunch of them.”
