What Spiritual Gifts Teach Us About the Value of Humans

Episode Summary. It is popularly thought today that human rights are the invention of modern secularism, which must protect these rights from oppressive forces like religion. But the facts of history tell us that the concept of human rights arose not from secularism, nor from Eastern religion, nor from the Enlightenment, but from Christendom. Until Christianity transformed it, the Greco-Roman worldview was that humans are born into a kind of natural hierarchy—that some men are born to command, others to obey, some to enslave, others to be enslaved.

Into this oppressive patriarchy marched Christianity with the radical idea that every human being, no matter how weak, handicapped, or helpless had inherent value and worth, which justice required protecting. And nowhere was Christianity’s assignment of dignity to every human being more obvious than in Paul’s letter to those living in the capital city of the empire, Rome itself. This is especially true of the text we are studying in Romans 12 on the topic of spiritual gifts. Not only are vital spiritual gifts given to every individual in the Body of Christ, but the very nature of some of the gifts is to ensure that personal attention and care are given to every individual inside and outside the Body of Christ. These People Gifts are those we examine in today’s episode.

For Further Prayerful Thought 

1. How we you defend the statemen, Christians should lead the way in shaping the culture surrounding them to value the individual rights and feelings of others?
2. How does the egalitarian idea that we need help from those with other gifts, and that all have gifts to contribute, not just the strong, undermine a culture that believed the strong had a right to conquer the weak?
3. Do the characteristics of the exhorter remind you of anyone? The mercy shower?

 Past Series Highlight:  Helping Our Daughters Flourish

• Required Today for Raising Godly, Confident, Daughters S1 E#26 5/3/20
• The Harm of OVERVALUING or UNDERVALUING Motherhood S1 E #27 5/10/20
• Two Requirements of Dads for Daughters to Flourish S1 E #28 5/17/20

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