I came across a verse in the last couple of weeks that seemed to jump from the pages of scripture and really strike a cord with me. Last week I talked about what God’s will is for our lives and I looked at the twelfth chapter of Romans as a jumping off point for finding the direction we are to take with our lives. It is amazing how the more you read from the word of God, the more clear things can become in our lives. When we actually spend time with him reading from his Word it can become more evident what it is that God wants from us.

The verse that I specifically want to look at this week also comes from this same chapter in Romans, and when I read it, my immediate and instinctive reaction to it was one of rejection. I read it and thought, "That doesn’t sound right" even though I knew that it was consistent with the rest of scripture. I thought to myself that this single verse is antithetical to what we strive for as Americans. I will get to the verse in a moment, but first I want to discuss a couple of things.

Many of the leadership and self help books today will tell you that in order to get ahead, you have to make efforts to get to know the right people. We are told that our social networking prowess is one of the biggest and most important resources that one can have. And if you are telling yourself that you are not into social networking, I would ask you whether or not you have a MySpace or Facebook account. If not, maybe you're part of the NRTeam here at NewReleaseTuesday.com, where you connect with other people and talk about music. Some of you may still be saying that this does not apply to you but the third question that I would ask is whether you have ever benefited from, in any way, someone that you knew, whether it was in the form a getting a job, having the opportunity to attend special events, purchase or receive products that not everyone had access too, or any other perk you can think of; all because you "knew" someone.

The power of "knowing" the right people is invaluable in our culture. If you have not thought of it yet I am sure that you can probably finish this next sentence... "It's not what you know, it’s ____ you know." We are driven by social networking. We all know people who are on that next tier in life and know that we have a better opportunity to get further in life because of that connection.

Conversely we see people that are lowly and not high in status. Often we see people who cannot benefit us in any way as a waste of time and it shows in the way that we treat them. We become proud and conceited in our attitude toward those who are not up to the measuring stick that we are using. Our whole world gets wrapped up in what others think of us and what others can do for us if they think favorably of us. But the question has to become has God called us to impress others and work the system to get as ahead as possible?

Certainly not! God has called us to live our lives for him and to KNOW HIM. All the social networking in the world may get you ahead in life but if you have not socially networked with God in knowing and having a relationship with his son Jesus it is all for naught. It makes no difference, and it is utterly pointless in the end. When Jesus came to earth the people he hung out with were the social outcasts of his day. He came to reach all people, but many of the elite and the people with status wanted nothing to do with him because of their pride and their view of Christ as someone who was only a lowly son of a carpenter.

This week’s Basic Eternal devotional comes from Romans 12:16, which says this: "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited."

Are we avoiding and missing opportunities to share the love of God with people because we do not see certain people as being worthy of the pursuit? Do we put a price on whether or not it is worth it to us in the end to take a moment and associate with people who are not on the same socio-economic level that we are? Are we willing to turn our noses up on one person who desperately needs to hear about the saving grace of God because of their position in our culture only to try and seek out someone, who equally needs to know God, but will cause others to be impressed by our association with them?

These are questions that we should ponder. We should ask ourselves why we try to some people while clamoring for the attention of others.

Some of you may be going back to school in the coming weeks and maybe God is asking you to look for the people of "low position" at school, look for the people who are eating alone at lunchtime or the people who seem to have not friends and be willing to set our pride aside for a moment and let the Holy Spirit guide us into a conversation and a moment that could be life changing, not just for the other person but for you.

Final Thought: Remember that the two most important things we can do is love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love others the same way that we love ourselves. Does your life show that you are loving others?