Photo by Vincent Peters: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-men-hugging-at-each-other-5350024/
He hugged each elder who fired him. After services, they invited him to meet privately where they wept and apologized for their conduct toward him and asked his forgiveness.
My friend could have chosen to harbor bitterness and resentment and treat others as he was treated. He chose God’s way. Peace must begin with us. We can’t share peace until we are at peace in our own heart.
The text continues: don’t be proud or conceited, make friends with those who seem unimportant. What do unimportant people look like? WE DECIDE! 1 Sam. 16:7 “Man judges by appearance.” What do they drive? Where do they work? How do they dress? Where do they live? How do they talk? Who are their friends? Are they like me?
If people aren’t viewed as important, it’s easy to treat them as unimportant, which devalues their view of themselves and keeps them feeling unimportant. If I was a bartender and our text was liquor, I might say, “Here’s a bit of the hard stuff.”
Rom. 12:14-16 “Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them. Be happy with those who are happy and sad with those who are sad. Live in peace with each other. Do not be proud but make friends with those who seem unimportant. Do not be conceited.”
Living in peace with others can be challenging; some may not want peace with you. The Bible message is direct: if there is a problem, don’t let it be you. When Jesus said to turn the other cheek, go a 2nd mile, forgive repeatedly, love those who hate us, His focus was not to change the other person, but to change us so we don’t become like the other person.
A preacher friend was fired. His dismissal was mean-spirited and handled horribly. Years later he returned to attend worship. Before services, portant.
When people gather, there’s usually someone considered the Most Important Person in the room. People tend to watch how the MIP acts. Did you notice that wherever Jesus happened to be, He was always the MIP and His behavior was always the same?
- He invited a tax collector to join a group of guys who hated tax collectors.
- He sent men with no formal education to go out and teach the world.
- He was gentle with a woman caught in the act of adultery.
- He defended a woman who crashed a party so she could see Him.
- He was kind to a woman divorced 5 times and living with a man not her husband.
- He stopped a discussion with grown-ups to make time for little children.
- He was kind to lepers, the crippled, the blind, the poor, the hurting.
Now, to the question we began with: “How to recognize the most important person in the room.” The MIP is respectful, gracious, kind, gentle, patient and accommodating to all, regardless of differences. That means that the person who acts that way BECOMES the MIP in any room because that person is imitating Jesus, who set the standard.
If you’ve ever wished you could be The Most Important Person in the Room, now you can! No pride – no conceit – simply make friends with those who seem unimportant and watch the change in them and in you. Humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up. And remember – you are greatly loved!
–Jackie Chesnutt, Chaplain and Emotional Support Coach for Myers-Davis (10/12/2026)
