Condescend to Those Of Low Estate

[Marathoner]

4 hours ago, Mr. M said:

Delving further into the NT use of this word

leads us into the mind of the Spirit. Consider Mary's

state of mind here in the wording of her magnificat. 

Luke 1:46 And Mary said:

My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.

This is echoed later by her son James:

1:9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 

10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower

of the field he will pass away. 

11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat

than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful

appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

And later,

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

This is ordinary people facing difficult circumstances. We recall

that Mary came under intense scrutiny and hostility over her

pregnancy. The matter was clarified for Joseph, and he protected

her from the social pressures She was under. So we see people brought

to a point of public humiliation crying out to God, and receiving grace.

No one knew this better than Paul! He endured endless trials.

2 Corinthians 7:

5 For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest,

but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. 

6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast (tapeinos),

comforted us by the coming of Titus, 

7 and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which

he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire,

your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

So what Paul is teaching us is that we are to recognize others

who are in a lowly, downcast state, and come beside them (paracletos)

and offer them comfort (paraclesis).

2 Corinthians 1:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 

4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able

to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort

with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 

5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us,

so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

2 Corinthians 9:

12 For the administration of this service not only supplies

the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through

many thanksgivings to God, 

13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God

for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ,

and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, 

14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you

because of the exceeding grace of God in you. 

15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

You were so right! There is so much more here than

economic and social class. Your response lead me to go

deeper into that word. This is our fellowship in the Spirit!

The other word 'condescend' is used two other times

in a negative connotation, but means "to lead away from".

We come along side others when they are downcast and lead 

them away; from despair, from hopelessness, from crisis.

When we are lead by the Spirit, we become His Comforter

for others in their low estate.

Today's society is so much more in tune with depression

and suicide, especially in the veteran community.

When I arrived at U.S. Vets this past Spring,

beginning with intake, later with an assigned case

manager, then a mandatory meeting with an on site

psychologist, and finally with a nurse practitioner at

the health care clinic, I was asked four times in one week

if I had any troubles with depression or thoughts of self-harm.

That was just four opportunities to show my hope in Christ,

and that there was no concern for me in that area. I suppose

within the Body of Christ, we should be just as tuned in to

the state of mind of those around us, and come along side

quickly for a brother or sister who is feeling down.

 

 

A commendable topic, brother. I often refer to this as remembering where we came from, for all of us were of lowly estate when Christ claimed us as His own.

But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest of you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:8-12 NASB)

For consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no human may boast before God. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NASB)

I work for my fellow military veterans, Mr. M. Self-harm is a pressing issue even among vets who are brethren; the questions you mention above are standard procedure regardless of the circumstances of care. I'm the first stop, for I conduct intakes... I'm on the front line of daily care... and then, I'm the last stop in the chain of care. It pleased the Lord to equip me for this work as I can say, "I have walked in your shoes."

Questions about the VA? Frustrated with the VA? Unsure of what the next step will be? We can overcome all things in Christ, for He saw fit to provide me with experience in such things. We can swiftly secure a copy of a vet's DD-214 which is the first step in their journey. Eligibility and Enrollment at the VA is the next step, which enters the vet in the VA's labyrinthine systems; it progresses from there. 

We should never forget where we come from.  

[TheBlade]

I like the AMP Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself.

The literal Greek "thinking the same thing toward another". We are not to think too highly of ourselves. But we can make it say anything we want huh.  

[Willa]

 

This is  just one more place that King James really stinks.  Probably the use of condescend has changed over the centuries because I don't think we are supposed to be condescending toward anyone.  We are told to think of others as better than ourselves or at least to not be aware of any difference from ourselves in station or worth.  We are not to be heartless, arrogant or high-handed!

associated

Co

 

[farouk]

On 12/2/2023 at 4:40 AM, Willa said:

 

This is  just one more place that King James really stinks.  Probably the use of condescend has changed over the centuries because I don't think we are supposed to be condescending toward anyone.  We are told to think of others as better than ourselves or at least to not be aware of any difference from ourselves in station or worth.  We are not to be heartless, arrogant or high-handed!

associated

Co

 

@Willa I do appreciate the KJV overall..............

[RdJ]

On 12/2/2023 at 10:40 AM, Willa said:

 

This is  just one more place that King James really stinks.  Probably the use of condescend has changed over the centuries because I don't think we are supposed to be condescending toward anyone.  We are told to think of others as better than ourselves or at least to not be aware of any difference from ourselves in station or worth.  We are not to be heartless, arrogant or high-handed!

associated

Co

 

Yes I was like: What? Is my English so bad? This must mean something else. So I looked it up in Dutch:

Be of the same mind among yourselves, not setting your minds on high things, but joining in the simple.

 

[RdJ]

On 11/27/2023 at 3:24 PM, Mr. M said:

Live in low income housing for a time.

Better not do that. Those are scarse. You may not even in my country and people who need them will get very mad at you. You are only allowed to live in them if you have a lower income. My mother had rich people in her church who wanted to go on holidays. They went to Israel and other places all the time. 2 incomes, no kids, so money enough. LOL they got kicked out of it. Those are for the poor. They're subsidized by the govt and other people don't want to pay taxes to let some rich live in them.

The only time that you can do that is switch houses for a week and income. They do that here with a tv program. Then they're very grateful.

 

 

Edited March 4, 2024 by RdJ

[farouk]

8 hours ago, RdJ said:

Yes I was like: What? Is my English so bad? This must mean something else. So I looked it up in Dutch:

Be of the same mind among yourselves, not setting your minds on high things, but joining in the simple.

 

Hi @RdJ Your English is very good...........