Introduction

Good day to everyone! In this sermon series on good habits, we have arrived at the fourth habit: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. To not think of yourself more highly than you ought is exceptionally challenging. One cannot clearly see oneself; if one could, it would be quite remarkable.

A friend of mine sought my counsel regarding a marital dispute. The wife recounted her husband's peculiar habit: he possessed both a microscope and a diminishing lens. He scrutinized her flaws with the microscope, while viewing his own through the diminishing lens. I remarked, Praise God, at least he doesn't use a funhouse mirror. Imagine the absurdity if he did! A stout person, upon gazing into such a mirror, would instantly appear slender and tall, obviating the need for dieting.

Do we, perhaps, all employ a funhouse mirror when assessing ourselves? Do we think of ourselves more highly than we ought? Is our self-perception accurate? This is a difficult question to answer. I have observed that some individuals prone to indolence often perceive themselves as having toiled mightily, accomplishing a great deal. Recently, during an IT training program, one participant consistently attributed greater weight to her contributions than was warranted. I often assigned her exercises to deepen her understanding, leading her to facilitate training sessions. However, she perceived this as an extraordinary workload, when in fact it was merely part of her training. I was astounded by the extent to which one's self-assessment could be so distorted.

Another instance that struck me was the prevalence of adult children who, despite their lack of filial piety, vehemently asserted their devotion to their parents. I once shared a rental house with several individuals, and we agreed to pool our resources for communal items like shampoo and toilet paper, each contributing 100 RMB per month. One of the brothers sharing the house with us saved a considerable sum, as renting a place on his own would have been far more expensive. Yet, he refused to contribute the 100 RMB, promising instead to sporadically purchase items for everyone. In the end, however, he bought nothing, freely using the toilet paper, shampoo, and toothpaste.

I then confronted him, asking, Why are you being so petty? He denied being petty, yet his actions suggested otherwise. He defended himself by saying that he was from Shanghai, and while all Shanghainese were frugal, he was the most generous among them! I harbored no prejudice against people from Shanghai, but his self-assessment was clearly inflated. In truth, there was a woman from Shanghai among us who was far more generous than him. Thus, one's self-judgment is indeed a curious thing.

Recently, we have been combating the spirit of Satan, whose most conspicuous trait is self-righteousness. People, after all, do not knowingly commit acts they believe to be wrong. We have a sister among us who said to her pastor, Teacher, do you know how difficult it is to fold a blanket? Is folding a blanket really that hard? She thought it was. Initially, her blankets were haphazardly folded compared to others, but she saw them as nearly identical. Eventually, we coached her on how to fold a blanket properly. I am baffled; what kind of eyes are these? What kind of mind is this? I am greatly surprised that people often think of themselves more highly than they ought.

I earnestly hope that our brothers and sisters can grow, live well, and possess a measured, balanced judgment of themselves. Alas, people frequently exhibit self-righteousness. For instance, if I advise a brother or sister to pursue something more diligently, they retort that they are already doing their utmost. If I urge them to aspire to be like Jesus, they respond that they already resemble Him. With such a mindset, how can they possibly be like Jesus? If they won't even pray for their ailing grandmother, how can they pray for others?

When I preach, I often share these true stories, which some perceive as shaming them. They believe they are already very much like Jesus. Then they call me, saying, Pastor, I'm leaving the church. I respond, Fine, leave. I won't stop you. That is my attitude; whoever wants to leave can leave. I never plead with them to stay. Lately, as we have been dealing with the spirit of Satan, some individuals will find themselves liberated. If you are not so self-righteous, you will be freed and enter into your destiny, because you will not think of yourself more highly than you ought. However, those who are unduly confident in their own judgment, those whose vision is blurred and whose understanding is limited, will leave the church.

Satan is exceedingly self-righteous, to the point of crucifying Jesus. Did he not know that Jesus would rise on the third day? Jesus had said it three times over; how could he not know? He knew it. After he had Jesus crucified, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. If he had not crucified Jesus, how could there have been a resurrection on the third day? Jesus couldn't very well hang himself and then resurrect himself! How could Satan be so foolish? This isn't Satan; this is an imbecile! In the end, this fool crucified Jesus, thinking, No way, no way! But Jesus did rise.

Satan began as a powerful and beautiful archangel, but he thought of himself more highly than he ought. It was such a simple choice. He was created by God, yet he saw himself as if he were God, believing himself to be immensely powerful. Where did he get such confidence? Perhaps he thought, God, step down; I'll take the throne, or Let's take turns—I'll be God for a while, and you can be the archangel. As a result, he was cast down from heaven by God, and to this day, he may still not understand how he became Satan.

Let us consider this: Satan's modus operandi is remarkably straightforward: to live, for living is man's objective. This is Satan's fundamental approach. Consider, for instance, his exchange with Jesus, where he suggested, If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. He assumed that bread was the most important thing in life, but to Jesus, what is bread? Jesus said, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Brothers and sisters, it is imperative to recognize that Satan elevates bread to paramount importance. If an individual also regards bread as supremely important and living as their sole purpose, how can they possibly fulfill their destiny? And if they assume that everyone thinks this way, and add a dash of self-righteousness to the mix, how can they ever be liberated? Therefore, we will continue to promote Mingding Destiny. If your goal is merely to live for the sake of living, you will find it difficult to remain. Even if you stay, we will not want you around. My words may seem harsh, but what purpose do you serve if you have no Mingding Destiny? If you are so easily deceived by Satan, I cannot retain you.

Today, we must recognize Satan's ways of working. If you are self-righteous and deny it when I point it out; if I say you are not much like Jesus, and you insist that you are; if I say you have no Mingding Destiny, and you claim that you do – how can such a person ever grow? If you truly want to be like Jesus, look at what you do. If your deeds do not align with Jesus's, what good does it do to proclaim that you are like Him?

Scripture

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:1-5)

Prayer

God, grant us today a wise heart; speak to us, that we may see ourselves with sober judgment. Lord, today, grant us wisdom, that we may not fall into the trap of self-righteousness. May we avoid thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought, but instead think of ourselves with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith you have given us. May we, in Jesus Christ, may we, in the church, be members of one another, together building your holy temple in unity. May we be one body in Jesus Christ, joined together as members, building a glorious church. Lord, we thank you, we praise you. Speak to us this day, that we may utterly confront the self-righteousness within us, that we may utterly confront the harmful habit of judging ourselves with extreme bias. Lord, give us a wise heart, that we may cultivate good habits, always seeing ourselves with sober judgment. In Jesus Christ's name, we pray, Amen!

Background of this Passage

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

We talk about these verses all the time.

Someone left a message on the website saying, This website teaches people how to live well. Of course! What's the point of teaching people how to live poorly? If one can live well, it must be by offering oneself as a living sacrifice, which is pleasing to God. If God is pleased with you, who can stand against you? We must constantly renew our minds.

We often talk about verses 1 and 2 above, but I must tell you that verse 3 is even more important. I've studied Romans many times, including two intensive Bible studies. But I still felt dissatisfied, like something was missing. Today, while discussing this topic, I re-examined this passage and realized I had overlooked the most important sentence: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought! What does this mean? It follows verses 1 and 2. After acknowledging that I have faith, I am a mighty warrior, I am a triumphant soldier, and I am like Jesus, why should I not think of myself more highly than I ought? Because the consequences of doing so are severe.

Some people have developed the habit of always seeing themselves through a funhouse mirror. A stout person sees themselves as slender and tall, which is ridiculous! Nowadays, cameras have beauty filters that turn a round face into a slender one. People send me these beautified photos, and I can see that the words in the background are distorted. It's obvious they've been edited to make the face look slimmer, which also affects the text.

So, everyone needs to start discerning what is credible and what isn't. People often use funhouse mirrors and beauty filters to the point where they no longer know what they actually look like. They see themselves as more than they are, and this only applies to their appearance. If their judgment is skewed in other areas, the problem becomes much more serious. If they have a distorted view of themselves, it will hinder their growth. How important it is to have good self-judgment! If people don't understand themselves, how can they talk about victory!

Victory requires cultivating victorious habits. If one's view of oneself is distorted, how can one possibly be victorious? In The Art of War, Sun Tzu writes: Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will not be defeated. The idea is that knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory. For example, if I'm mentoring someone and I say, You need to be like Jesus! and they say, I'm already like Jesus! I might ask, How are you like Jesus? and they respond, I'm like Jesus in every way! They're looking at themselves through a funhouse mirror, thinking they look beautiful. But I don't see them that way. They think they look good, but I see something ugly. Why don't we see the same person? How can someone grow if they think they're already great? It's not a big deal if you underestimate yourself, but as the Bible says, it's a problem if you think of yourself more highly than you ought.

I watched a short video of an old farmer in a park, sitting on a stage, pontificating about municipal affairs to an audience. He spoke with such conviction. I thought to myself, It's a shame he's not the mayor. If he were, he'd make a mess of things because talking is one thing, but doing is another. People often think of themselves more highly than they ought, which causes serious problems.

Paul spoke about the unity of the church in verse 4. If everyone in the church sees themselves and others in a distorted way, and everyone thinks they're seeing the truth, but they all point out each other's flaws, and the other person says you have problems too, the church cannot be unified. The church is a unified team. If everyone thinks of themselves more highly than they ought, the problem is extremely serious. Where does this problem come from? It comes from Satan, because Satan thinks of himself more highly than he ought. If you constantly think of yourself more highly than you ought, you're in trouble.

Many people have left the church recently. I hope I'm not seeing this through a funhouse mirror. I'm very careful, but in my judgment, it's a good thing they're leaving. They think they have Mingding Destiny, but I don't see it in them. They think they've put a lot of effort into shepherding, but I haven't seen anything. Some of them do more harm than good. They shepherd people to death, and they don't allow me to correct their problems. If I correct them, they say they don't have any problems. It's good that they're leaving!

The background of this passage is Romans 12:1-2, which speaks of complete sacrifice and the renewal of the mind. Underline the following words. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. Underline that sentence. For example, someone says, I've already offered myself as a living sacrifice, but they haven't, and they're good at saying it. This disrupts the unity of the church. That's the background of this passage written by Paul.

Later, in verse 6, he speaks of focusing on service, teaching, encouragement, and so forth.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8)

This is the problem. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. If you've developed the habit of thinking of yourself more highly than you ought, you're probably often undermining yourself. At the very least, it's not pleasing to God.

Thinking More Highly Than One Ought Brings Many Problems

People are not clear about their own problems. Everyone needs a pastor, and the feedback a pastor provides is important. If people think of themselves more highly than they ought, it causes many problems. Why did those people leave the church? Because I told them about their situation, but their self-assessment didn't match. As a result, they felt hurt. For example, you might say to someone, You're being trained, we're serving you, and you're receiving a lot of grace! The person is puzzled and thinks, No, I think I've made a lot of contributions to the church! If you ask them what contributions they've made, they answer, I'm very diligent in shepherding, but if you ask who they've shepherded, they get stuck and feel hurt.

If a person's self-assessment is not accurate, balanced, or free from self-righteousness, how can they avoid feeling hurt? Recently, someone left a message on the website. It said that a child grew up being disciplined by her parents, sometimes even physically. She was bullied at school, and her life hasn't been great. In short, her life has been tragic. She asked if she could grow up healthy. I said that her experiences don't seem as bad as Joseph's. No one sold her into slavery in Egypt. She has a household registration and an ID card. She's a free person, right? Joseph didn't even have a sense of right and wrong, and he didn't resent anyone. Joseph later became the prime minister of Egypt. He was grateful to the people who sold him into Egypt. Her suffering probably isn't that severe.

This person left messages on the website, arguing with me. She was very self-righteous, thinking that her grievances and suffering were the worst in the world and deserved a place in the Guinness Book of Records. But that's far from the truth. This is thinking of herself more highly than she ought. She thought that the injustice, grievances, and bullying she experienced were the greatest tragedies in the world. She was exaggerating her sufferings, of course she would be hurt! But if she thought her sufferings were not much compared to Joseph's, she would feel better. Or if she thought that the people who hurt her were helping her to become less easily hurt, that would be a much better way to look at it!

When a person overestimates their own abilities, they cannot grow. Many hold the attitude: I am good enough, transformed by renewing my mind. Yet, they cannot discern God's good, pleasing, and perfect will, despite their supposed constant transformation. Such individuals lack objectivity in self-assessment, often viewing themselves through a distorted lens, a habit with severe, unnoticed consequences, hence the need for pastors. Some lament their pastors' shortcomings, but the impact of your pastor is less significant than your self-perception.

Consider Samuel under Eli, a rather flawed priest. When God called Samuel's name, Samuel ran to Eli, asking, Did you call me, teacher? Eli replied, No. Samuel heard again and repeated his question, but Eli again denied calling him. Despite Eli's inaccurate self-assessment, his judgment of Samuel was precise. Eventually, Eli instructed Samuel, If called again, respond, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' Eli was clear about Samuel's calling and destiny, and Samuel later received revelations from God.

Eli is known as a historically deficient priest. Did serving under Eli hinder Samuel's growth? No. Why? Because while Eli viewed himself through a distorted lens, he accurately identified Samuel's flaws. Samuel became one of history's greatest priests, judges, and leaders, on par with Moses.

Therefore, do not fret. Having a pastor like Eli is a great blessing. Though he may see his own issues with a distorted view, he sees your issues with a keen eye, benefiting your growth. We must constantly tackle self-righteousness, wounded emotions, and bad habits, and not overestimate ourselves. How can one grow steadily if they overestimate their abilities? They not only fail to grow but also experience strong feelings of frustration.

I am closely monitoring the growth of one sister whom I have served for over a decade. After an eight- or nine-year absence, she returned to the church. Her judgment of situations and herself is extremely biased. For instance, when her boss assigns her a task, she suspects ill intentions, thinking he wants to implicate her in wrongdoing. Her skewed perception of events and herself hinders her relationships.

Someone who is stingy but perceives themselves as generous, or believes they are the most generous among stingy people, needs pastoral guidance to grow because their self-assessment is flawed. Thankfully, this sister has made significant progress recently as she learns to relinquish her self-perception and listen to her pastor's assessment.

Growth Occurs Step by Step

Personal growth is a step-by-step process. I emphasize this because one must grow according to the measure of faith God has given. Even if you perceive your faith as weak, advance from that level. If you see yourself realistically at that stage, without overestimating, you will have an accurate self-judgment, be a good subordinate, a good sheep, and your pastor will shepherd you well, guiding you to the next step.

I have observed that everyone exists in a hierarchical relationship, always in a central role. Whether you like it or not, someone is always above you, providing covering and authority, telling you your current status. If you have a healthy, trusting relationship with your pastor, even if he errs, it will still edify your growth. One who refuses to be shepherded cannot become a good shepherd. Being shepherded prepares you to shepherd others when you lead.

Overestimating oneself leads to discouragement. For example, feeling capable of lifting 200 kilograms but failing, or expecting an Olympic gold medal but being denied the chance. I have noticed that many disdain tasks they can perform while being unable to perform those they admire, leading to frustration. I prefer simplifying teachings, but some dismiss them as too simple, ignoring the challenge. Those who fail to grasp even challenging concepts remain largely unproductive.

Knowing one's position, the next step, how to collaborate, one's progress, and how to advance enables progress. Self-righteous people who overestimate their abilities often have poor relationships. It is useless to have good relationships with unreliable people if you have poor relationships with your boss and colleagues.

In football, unity with the team is essential. If others find it comfortable playing with you, you will be included. If not, they will ignore you. Football is a team effort requiring each player to fulfill their role.

I am not criticizing your forward position, but if asked to play defense, you must do so well, not charge forward and leave the defense unguarded. This is problematic and annoying. A lack of teamwork and unclear self-perception, leading to overestimation, causes one to believe they can play any position, leading the team to lose. Team competitions depend on collaboration and fulfilling individual roles. Christian faith is a team effort requiring unity for transformation and growth, which is crucial. In our cooperative team, submissive brothers and sisters who see themselves accurately grow the fastest.

I served a pastor from another church who came for training and found our 102 ministry to the critically ill challenging. She noted that the small group leader was impressive and taught very effectively. Her feedback was: My small group leader is clearer than our senior pastor. I have never seen such a powerful pastor; your training is amazing!

She told her pastor, who then incorporated the small group leader's points into his sermons. I later learned that the small group leader was quite weak, not publicly impressive. Yet, because she was submissive, she saw herself realistically and was praised beyond my expectations.

Recently, we often assign 102 ministry trainees to lead groups. Many commend their leadership as excellent. I am curious to hear them as well. One scientist in pharmaceuticals said, My small group leader is clearer than many senior pastors of thousand-member churches! Why? Because we have a deep understanding of the truth of healing and deliverance, which our small group leaders and leaders inherit well. When people are grounded and fulfill their roles, they are honored in their service.

I often get asked: How do you train such capable people? I invest a great deal in training, but it is less effective than realistic self-perception. If you constantly overestimate yourself, my training is ineffective. What can I do? Nothing.

I commend our small leaders. One person said, I learned everything in three months at other churches. I replied, Those churches must teach very little. He said, I can also learn everything in three months here. But after three months, he said, Learning here is mentally exhausting; I am not done yet!

The small group leader I mentioned is not outstanding among us; making her a small group leader was for training. Other pastors admire her. This may sound like self-praise, but it is true. We are committed to what our great Chairman said: Grasping iron leaves marks, stepping on stone leaves footprints! Being grounded is wonderful. Christians must learn from others to grow.

Growth is a step-by-step process. Do not be unrealistic, or you will achieve nothing. In our practice, training is done step by step. If you are not good at something, admit it.

Our teachings are summarized from our practices, which you likely have less of. You may have pastored a few people, possibly well, but you must know that there is much to learn. Unless you replace me, which I would welcome, as standing here all day is tiring!

My earlier point on step-by-step growth refers to individual growth. Whether your individual growth is genuine or not requires reviewing and testing in unity.

Testing Personal Growth Through Unity

People often have a distorted self-perception. How can one check if they have grown? By seeing if you see yourself realistically, without overestimating. If a screw and nut fit well, it is a good screw!

If the screw cannot tighten, it indicates mismatch. Either the parts are not correct or are not up to standard. Unity is the key test. Romans 12:1-2 concerns the individual, but no one knows if an individual whose mind is renewed has improved or deteriorated. But testing against the standard of unity reveals whether you have improved or deteriorated.

If you create chaos and damaged relationships in the church, you need to reflect! But I do not want you to play politics or seek personal relations in the church. Unity is in the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Christ; unity is the key to testing your development. Once you possess a character of unity, you will be victorious; once you develop a character of unity, you will grow; once you manifest unity, you successfully fight your flesh! Because Romans speaks of dealing with the flesh.

Do not pursue personal pursuits, as disunity is useless. Even if you offer yourself as a living sacrifice, holy to God, He says you cannot be holy if you are not in unity, because God is pleased when you enter into unity with Him according to His Word. Do not conform to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind! If your mind is renewed but you lack unity, it is not transformation but deterioration.

The Church is a body of Jesus Christ with many members. How the members relate to each other is important! The body has a head, neck, arms, legs, and feet, as well as organs like ears, eyes, and nose. Then there are the five internal organs. According to Yin and Yang, there are many lessons to be learned. Each organ, respectively assisting or controlling one another. A harmonious, well-coordinated body is healthy. Disharmony within a person, like a foreign organ causing rejection, leads to sickness requiring medication.

If someone overestimates themselves, it causes disunity, which leads to defeat and inability to claim God's promises. Is this not serious? Overestimating oneself is carnal, ability-based, not submissive, and resistant to shepherding, leading to a lack of Mingding Destiny. If we offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, how can we be disobedient? Some say, How can I submit to him? He does not look like my ideal shepherd. How can there be unity with such an attitude! How can he not shepherd you because of his appearance?

In the process of dealing with ourselves, we should not use a microscope for others and a magnifying glass for ourselves. We must see ourselves realistically and address our issues clearly to become more like Jesus, which is what we promote. If you are yet to resemble Jesus, you likely have many issues and much distance to cover. Unity tests true growth, but self-righteousness is ineffective.

Conclusion

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

Before writing chapter 12, Paul wrote Oh, the depth! in chapter 11, expressing awe at God's wisdom. Do we say today that all things are from Him, through Him, and for Him? By choosing to be in unity with our brothers and sisters, we allow God to dwell among us, let His glory fill us, and allow God's glory to be manifested among us, may our deeds be pleasing in His sight.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! Our brothers and sisters must know that Samuel could grow healthily under Eli; Joseph could grow healthily after being sold into slavery in Egypt; and Paul could write such a wise book as Romans even in challenging circumstances. We should know that this is the rich knowledge and wisdom of God.

From now on, let God's Word illuminate us. Can we see ourselves appropriately, realistically, and without overestimation? Once you overestimate yourself, you will discover many problems.

If God disciplines you, thank God! If God does not discipline you, you are abandoned. Let us turn to God, not overestimating ourselves, and strive forward according to the measure of faith God has given us, continuously pursuing our goals. If we are faithful in small matters, acting as good servants, God will assign us more to manage! If we are faithful in greater matters, God will arrange even more for us to manage, until we grow to the full stature of Christ, allowing His glory to be manifested through us, so that we may live out the glorious image we were created for!

May God bless everyone!