Learning from Romans 8: by Will Baldwin

I am thankful for the great spiritual guidance that I have been blessed with during my time so far as a Nashville Fellow. One example of this is a Bible study that I (occasionally) attend on Thursday mornings at Panera Bread. Led by Rev. David Barr, we’ve been looking at Romans. The book of Romans was really drawing me in, so I read ahead and got to Romans 8. Along with Fellows classes, church at St. George’s, and other aspects of my time here in Nashville, Romans 8 has helped direct my career-related instincts away from selfish gain and toward glorifying God. When Paul writes “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”, it’s a beautiful, clear, joyful picture of the Gospel. But when the rubber meets the road, I keep finding that I’m not displaying the fruits of the spirit, which Paul writes are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruit of the spirit that I’m focusing on most intently is kindness, which Alistair Begg, a pastor I admire, describes as being like sacrificial love, doing something for others without thinking of oneself. 

One struggle I have is the bad habit of always thinking about how to “get ahead” career-wise at work. A good interaction with a manager might get me a promotion down the road, or even something as do-goodish as taking time to talk to a janitor might make someone think I’m a good person and remember me later on when they could give me something like a raise. The more self-focused I am at my job, the more every little thing I do becomes self-focused. If instead I would think of myself less, and avoid trying so hard to jockey for position for a promotion, or befriend someone who I have little to gain from, well that’s living out the Gospel. Over the course of the Fellows program I have realized that I struggle to live that way at work, and it might have something to do with misplaced desires. When the aim of getting ahead, getting recognized for being a good worker, and the desire to make money trumps other desires, it’s time to refocus on the God in whom I’m restless until I find my rest in Him.

I read this quote in a book by Pastor Tim Keller “Gospel-humility is not needing to think about myself. Not needing to connect things with myself. It is an end to thoughts such as, ‘I’m in this room with these people, does that make me look good? Do I want to be here?’ True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself. The freedom of self-forgetfulness. The blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings.” As I work for Sarah Cannon, this helps me to think more about the mission of the company, to bring innovation and personalization to cancer care, instead of thinking of the company as a place to help me make a name for myself career-wise or boost a resume. Instead of thinking more of myself, the Gospel laid out by Paul in Romans 8 helps me better love my neighbor and my company’s mission.