Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Every one is to please his neighbor for his neighbor's good so as to build him up to spiritual growth, and not to please himself. Those who are strong are to bear the infirmities and weaknesses of the weak instead of seeking their own pleasure. The pattern is Christ, who did not please Himself but lived in self-denying, self-sacrificing love and bore reproach for others. This means helping those who are weak in faith, troubled by doubt, or gone astray by encouraging and strengthening them and fastening their trembling faith upon God, instead of rejecting or judging them. It is kept by putting away faultfinding and guarding the lips to speak only kind, tender, and encouraging words, and by living in the church at peace in love and unity with union with Christ bringing unity with one another.
Meaning and Context
Every one without exception is to please his neighbor with his neighbor's good in view, so as to build him up to spiritual growth and edification, instead of pleasing himself. That pleasing is not self-indulgence or acting for self-pleasure, but putting the neighbor's good and spiritual growth ahead of self-pleasing with tender consideration. It includes helping the weak and bearing with their infirmities in self-denying love after the pattern of Christ, who did not seek His own pleasure but accepted reproach for others.
In its setting the strong ought to bear the infirmities and weaknesses of the weak instead of pleasing themselves. That patient, considerate conduct bears with the weaknesses of others and belongs to living in love and unity. Faultfinding against God's servants while claiming to do God's service is forbidden as harmful weakness and besetting sin to be put away, for reproaches directed at them fall upon Christ Himself.
The verse belongs to the cure for lack of unity and lack of love, by working on this principle of pleasing the neighbor for good. Believers are to be like-minded toward one another according to Christ, to set aside self, help those who need support, and live at peace in love and unity, with union with Christ leading to unity with one another. They are to receive one another as Christ received them to the glory of God, and to be one as Christ is one with the Father, so that with one mind and one mouth they glorify God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What was written aforetime was written for learning, that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures believers may have hope. Pleasing the neighbor for good is following the things that make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. He that in these things serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men.
Christ the Pattern
The pattern for pleasing the neighbor for good to edification is Christ, who pleased not Himself but lived in self-denying, self-sacrificing love. Each person is to seek the neighbor's good and spiritual building up rather than seeking to please self, with the strong bearing the infirmities and weaknesses of the weak. This patient, considerate, tender conduct reflects Christ, who did not seek His own pleasure but accepted reproach for others and bore with the weaknesses of others. Believers are to follow Him by walking as He loved and gave Himself, helping the weak and building the neighbor up instead of acting to please self.
Christ bore reproach for others, and the reproaches directed against God fall upon Him. So also the reproaches with which the servants of the Lord are reproached fall upon Christ Himself, so that faultfinding against God's servants is harmful. He pitied and helped in weakness and sinfulness, bearing reproach rather than living to please Himself. This self-denying, practical care for weak souls is the opposite of self-pleasing and of finding fault with others while claiming to do God's service.
He emptied Himself of glory and clothed divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity. He came to seek and to save the lost, pleasing not Himself but bearing the reproaches that fell on God.
Care for the Weak
Pleasing one's neighbor for his good means actively helping those who are weak, infirm, troubled by doubt, weak in faith, perplexed, burdened, unable to grasp the unseen, or gone astray. It requires encouraging and strengthening them, helping them to overcome and to prepare for judgment, rather than rejecting them or pleasing oneself. Such help comes by pitying them as Christ pitied and helped in weakness and sinfulness, laying aside pride and selfishness to do good in Christ's name with a loving and tender spirit. It means coming to the doubting one as a visible friend in Christ's stead to fasten trembling faith upon God, for compassionate help offered in Christ's spirit strengthens another's trust in God.
That care must be pitiful, courteous, kind, patient, tender and compassionate, lifting the sufferer above thought of self through earnest interest and self-denial and self-sacrifice. For a tried brother passing through severe trial a chance is to be made, lest he sink in temptation, with his errors corrected without making sport of his infirmities or weakness. Practical sympathy is to be shown according to particular needs, especially for the tempted, afflicted and discouraged, accommodating to varied needs and capacities and adapting efforts to help others. The strong thus bear the infirmities of the weak after Christ's self-denying example, serving and strengthening the flock as a shepherd does by bearing burdens and carrying them, even when helping brings difficulty or reproach. Authority is not to be used harshly nor the erring discouraged, since love and meekness in this work can keep souls from being driven away from the truth.
Patience is required with inconsistencies, perversities and error, with long patience toward those who do not see alike. No judging of one another, no belittling, disparaging, or putting hindrance or stumbling in a brother's way is allowed, even when his background or former position seems low, for he may be honored by God. The doer of the Word and not a hearer only lives with none of self and all of Christ. Each believer is called to turn to earnest labor for those around him, whose souls are just as precious in God's sight as his own, becoming a laborer together with God for their conversion. Heavenly intelligences stand close beside every soul-winning worker in that self-denying, practical care for weak souls, so that both worker and converted souls glorify God with one mind and one mouth.
Living It Out Daily
To please the neighbor for good to edification forbids finding fault with others while professing to serve God, for faultfinding is weakness and besetting sin to be put away, and faultfinding against God's servants is harmful because reproach aimed at them falls upon Christ Himself. A quarrelsome, faultfinding disposition will never enter the city of God, while Jesus never finds fault except to lay open perils from which He would deliver.
The verse is kept by guarding the door of the lips and speaking only kind, tender, encouraging, pleasant words that refresh and bless both speaker and hearer, by educating the tongue, guarding the lips from guile, rejoicing not in iniquity but in the truth, letting another give praise rather than praising self, being of the same mind and humbly condescending to others rather than being wise in self-conceit, overcoming hereditary and cultivated faults of character, and drawing nigh to brethren to respect and love them while cultivating confidence rather than suspicion. Only when brain-power and the talent of speech are sanctified is a person fitted for that service of building up the neighbor.
Under provocation not a word is to be uttered, for silence is the greatest rebuke to a faultfinder or an irritated temper; no word that provokes wrong acts, no contending, criticism, tearing down, listening to talk of others' sins and faults, retaliating when spoken to harshly, or murmuring is allowed. Instead self is to be quarreled with rather than others, sins confessed, the heart humbled before God, and the eye kept fixed on Jesus. In the church this requires putting away self-centeredness, self-seeking and dissension to live at peace, in love and unity, helping those who need support and bearing the weaknesses of others, with union with Christ leading to unity with one another.
Living the verse calls for complete self-surrender, working the works of God, refusing to bring false principles into dealings or lead souls from the safe path, holding correct principles whatever the cost, letting light shine in appeals and warnings, economizing pence to have pounds for the cause of truth, keeping tables free from useless pictures and ornaments as nothing compared with the word of God, and letting a holy example lead the sympathies of friends heavenward. Its principle is to benefit others and be a blessing to society, so amusement is not innocent if it leaves a person less able to fulfill ordinary duties faithfully.
It is practiced by caring for widows, orphans and the needy through timely help and a place in the home, and by patiently instructing, encouraging and bearing with difficult children for their good rather than chiefly for personal advantage, so that doing good overcomes selfishness. In hardship it means denying self for Christ's sake to show His tenderness and compassion in meeting the poor's needs, and caring for people in need including distressed members of the faith community rather than living for self. None are in this world to please and glorify self, but as God's stewards each man and woman is given capabilities qualifying for a definite work in the Lord's work in its many branches, and faithfulness requires serving where ability can be best used rather than holding a place for self, with those in responsible positions weighing probabilities and possibilities without selfishness and placing workers whose office work might better be done outside the office into other needed lines such as canvassing.
Every one is to please his neighbor for his neighbor's good so as to build him up to spiritual growth, and not to please himself. Those who are strong are to bear the infirmities and weaknesses of the weak instead of seeking their own pleasure. The pattern is Christ, who did not please Himself but lived in self-denying, self-sacrificing love and bore reproach for others. This means helping those who are weak in faith, troubled by doubt, or gone astray by encouraging and strengthening them and fastening their trembling faith upon God, instead of rejecting or judging them. It is kept by putting away faultfinding and guarding the lips to speak only kind, tender, and encouraging words, and by living in the church at peace in love and unity with union with Christ bringing unity with one another.
Meaning and Context
Every one without exception is to please his neighbor with his neighbor's good in view, so as to build him up to spiritual growth and edification, instead of pleasing himself. That pleasing is not self-indulgence or acting for self-pleasure, but putting the neighbor's good and spiritual growth ahead of self-pleasing with tender consideration. It includes helping the weak and bearing with their infirmities in self-denying love after the pattern of Christ, who did not seek His own pleasure but accepted reproach for others.
In its setting the strong ought to bear the infirmities and weaknesses of the weak instead of pleasing themselves. That patient, considerate conduct bears with the weaknesses of others and belongs to living in love and unity. Faultfinding against God's servants while claiming to do God's service is forbidden as harmful weakness and besetting sin to be put away, for reproaches directed at them fall upon Christ Himself.
The verse belongs to the cure for lack of unity and lack of love, by working on this principle of pleasing the neighbor for good. Believers are to be like-minded toward one another according to Christ, to set aside self, help those who need support, and live at peace in love and unity, with union with Christ leading to unity with one another. They are to receive one another as Christ received them to the glory of God, and to be one as Christ is one with the Father, so that with one mind and one mouth they glorify God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What was written aforetime was written for learning, that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures believers may have hope. Pleasing the neighbor for good is following the things that make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. He that in these things serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men.
Christ the Pattern
The pattern for pleasing the neighbor for good to edification is Christ, who pleased not Himself but lived in self-denying, self-sacrificing love. Each person is to seek the neighbor's good and spiritual building up rather than seeking to please self, with the strong bearing the infirmities and weaknesses of the weak. This patient, considerate, tender conduct reflects Christ, who did not seek His own pleasure but accepted reproach for others and bore with the weaknesses of others. Believers are to follow Him by walking as He loved and gave Himself, helping the weak and building the neighbor up instead of acting to please self.
Christ bore reproach for others, and the reproaches directed against God fall upon Him. So also the reproaches with which the servants of the Lord are reproached fall upon Christ Himself, so that faultfinding against God's servants is harmful. He pitied and helped in weakness and sinfulness, bearing reproach rather than living to please Himself. This self-denying, practical care for weak souls is the opposite of self-pleasing and of finding fault with others while claiming to do God's service.
He emptied Himself of glory and clothed divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity. He came to seek and to save the lost, pleasing not Himself but bearing the reproaches that fell on God.
Care for the Weak
Pleasing one's neighbor for his good means actively helping those who are weak, infirm, troubled by doubt, weak in faith, perplexed, burdened, unable to grasp the unseen, or gone astray. It requires encouraging and strengthening them, helping them to overcome and to prepare for judgment, rather than rejecting them or pleasing oneself. Such help comes by pitying them as Christ pitied and helped in weakness and sinfulness, laying aside pride and selfishness to do good in Christ's name with a loving and tender spirit. It means coming to the doubting one as a visible friend in Christ's stead to fasten trembling faith upon God, for compassionate help offered in Christ's spirit strengthens another's trust in God.
That care must be pitiful, courteous, kind, patient, tender and compassionate, lifting the sufferer above thought of self through earnest interest and self-denial and self-sacrifice. For a tried brother passing through severe trial a chance is to be made, lest he sink in temptation, with his errors corrected without making sport of his infirmities or weakness. Practical sympathy is to be shown according to particular needs, especially for the tempted, afflicted and discouraged, accommodating to varied needs and capacities and adapting efforts to help others. The strong thus bear the infirmities of the weak after Christ's self-denying example, serving and strengthening the flock as a shepherd does by bearing burdens and carrying them, even when helping brings difficulty or reproach. Authority is not to be used harshly nor the erring discouraged, since love and meekness in this work can keep souls from being driven away from the truth.
Patience is required with inconsistencies, perversities and error, with long patience toward those who do not see alike. No judging of one another, no belittling, disparaging, or putting hindrance or stumbling in a brother's way is allowed, even when his background or former position seems low, for he may be honored by God. The doer of the Word and not a hearer only lives with none of self and all of Christ. Each believer is called to turn to earnest labor for those around him, whose souls are just as precious in God's sight as his own, becoming a laborer together with God for their conversion. Heavenly intelligences stand close beside every soul-winning worker in that self-denying, practical care for weak souls, so that both worker and converted souls glorify God with one mind and one mouth.
Living It Out Daily
To please the neighbor for good to edification forbids finding fault with others while professing to serve God, for faultfinding is weakness and besetting sin to be put away, and faultfinding against God's servants is harmful because reproach aimed at them falls upon Christ Himself. A quarrelsome, faultfinding disposition will never enter the city of God, while Jesus never finds fault except to lay open perils from which He would deliver.
The verse is kept by guarding the door of the lips and speaking only kind, tender, encouraging, pleasant words that refresh and bless both speaker and hearer, by educating the tongue, guarding the lips from guile, rejoicing not in iniquity but in the truth, letting another give praise rather than praising self, being of the same mind and humbly condescending to others rather than being wise in self-conceit, overcoming hereditary and cultivated faults of character, and drawing nigh to brethren to respect and love them while cultivating confidence rather than suspicion. Only when brain-power and the talent of speech are sanctified is a person fitted for that service of building up the neighbor.
Under provocation not a word is to be uttered, for silence is the greatest rebuke to a faultfinder or an irritated temper; no word that provokes wrong acts, no contending, criticism, tearing down, listening to talk of others' sins and faults, retaliating when spoken to harshly, or murmuring is allowed. Instead self is to be quarreled with rather than others, sins confessed, the heart humbled before God, and the eye kept fixed on Jesus. In the church this requires putting away self-centeredness, self-seeking and dissension to live at peace, in love and unity, helping those who need support and bearing the weaknesses of others, with union with Christ leading to unity with one another.
Living the verse calls for complete self-surrender, working the works of God, refusing to bring false principles into dealings or lead souls from the safe path, holding correct principles whatever the cost, letting light shine in appeals and warnings, economizing pence to have pounds for the cause of truth, keeping tables free from useless pictures and ornaments as nothing compared with the word of God, and letting a holy example lead the sympathies of friends heavenward. Its principle is to benefit others and be a blessing to society, so amusement is not innocent if it leaves a person less able to fulfill ordinary duties faithfully.
It is practiced by caring for widows, orphans and the needy through timely help and a place in the home, and by patiently instructing, encouraging and bearing with difficult children for their good rather than chiefly for personal advantage, so that doing good overcomes selfishness. In hardship it means denying self for Christ's sake to show His tenderness and compassion in meeting the poor's needs, and caring for people in need including distressed members of the faith community rather than living for self. None are in this world to please and glorify self, but as God's stewards each man and woman is given capabilities qualifying for a definite work in the Lord's work in its many branches, and faithfulness requires serving where ability can be best used rather than holding a place for self, with those in responsible positions weighing probabilities and possibilities without selfishness and placing workers whose office work might better be done outside the office into other needed lines such as canvassing.