Ephesians 4:25 (NIV)
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”

God instructs us all to speak the truth to our neighbors in this passage of scripture. But someone may ask, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered this question while sharing a story about the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. In this story, we can see that neighbor relationships are formed between two people whose paths meet. The Good Samaritan and the victim in this story are both neighbors because their paths met, and both of them are required to speak the truth to each other in this situation.

While it is important for the Good Samaritan to view this victim as his neighbor to whom he can share his resources, it is also important for the victim to be honest enough to view the Good Samaritan as his neighbor from whom he can receive. What would have happened if the victim did not acknowledge the Good Samaritan as his neighbor? What if the victim had said, “I do not need you, Mr. Good Samaritan. Please mind your business; I’ll call my brother to take care of me or I can take care of myself?” Evidently the victim would have stayed in his predicament. But, because the victim acknowledged the Good Samaritan and was open to receive from him, the victim was relieved of his predicament. Proverbs 27:10 further explains this by stating that we need to acknowledge our neighbors who are close by instead of brothers or siblings who are far away. The Good Samaritan was anointed for an office to help the victim in this situation. The Good Samaritan, although might have been castigated in the past because of his nationality, was the truly greater person who must be acknowledged.

We need to be just as honest in our relationships with people, as well. When we spot a God-founded office in our world which holds the key to meeting a need in our lives, we must be honest enough to acknowledge the person God has anointed to hold the key to that office as the truly greater. God anoints offices in our worlds not only because of the people who hold those offices, but because of all the people that God intends to bless through the office. But, how come I was not anointed for that office?

Firstly, you need to recognize that promotion from God to an anointed office comes as a result of long time obedience to His Word. Luke 4:13-15 indicates that Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit after He sealed His long term practice of obedience and allegiance to God’s cause with His triumph over the temptations in the wilderness. Secondly, even if God anointed you for an office, you will not be anointed for all the offices you need all at once to fulfill your destiny. Therefore, other people will hold offices which position them as the truly greater than you, in certain instances.

These individuals should be acknowledged in thought, word and deed, and when we do this, we will increase our ability to receive the mercy of God over our lives to release the anointing we need to meet those needs in our lives.

With the background of this level of honesty, we are now positioned to demonstrate humility toward the truly greater. So would you like to know how to demonstrate this kind of humility toward the truly greater? If you answered “Yes” to this question, we would like to invite you to read the next article: Deference Toward the Truly Greater.