Romans 12:10 (KJV) “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”
This kind of love from the Word is where we get the city name Philadelphia, or brotherly love. The Lord is asking you to be kind to your brothers and sisters in Christ. I would have thought it strange for Him to ask the Body of Christ to be kind to one another if it wasn’t for the fact that I have been a part of the Body of Christ for a long time, and it seems that most unkindness actually comes from within the Body itself.
So, just like you would encourage your children to be kind to one another as they have their differences, the Father asks us to be kind to one another too. This is really a good word for today, for the time we have come to in our society. Just be kind. How? Maybe being less concerned with being right all the time, proving your point, or having the last word. Just more BE KIND!
Paul, by the Holy Ghost, tells us to honor and prefer one another. How do you prefer someone? You can think more highly of someone else rather than yourself. You can elevate the feelings of another person above your own. If you and I honored and preferred one another on a regular basis, life would be a lot sweeter.
What does that look like? It could be as simple as holding the door, letting someone go before you in the long grocery store line, or stopping what you are doing if it annoys someone, etc. If I prefer you, I have to humble myself, which God really likes. If I am not honoring and preferring my brothers and sisters in Christ, then I am elevating myself above them, which is a form of pride.
Now, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is one that is written to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:33 (AMPC):
“However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him and loves and admires him exceedingly].”
Wow! I really just put that in to see if Pastor Rhonda was reading this. You know what I mean if you have graduated Bible Institute.
This verse clearly tells us what to do, not only as a husband and wife, but if we would all do that last part, the Body of Christ would be set apart, and people would want to be a part of us!