BEING AFFECTIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER
"BE KINDLY AFFECTIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER WITH BROTHERLY LOVE, IN HONOUR GIVING PREFERENCE TO ONE ANOTHER."
Romans 12:10 (NKJV)
The Greek word translated affection in the passage is "philostorgos". It means a fond of natural relatives that is fraternal or friendly or brotherly towards fellow believers or Christians.
Amplified Bible puts It thus:
"BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER WITH [authentic] BROTHERLY AFFECTION [as members of one family], GIVE PREFERENCE TO ONE ANOTHER IN HONOUR" (Romans 12:10 Amps).
Believers were admonished to be affectionate to one another. They should express brotherly love among themselves. The affection being talked about here is the kind found among those who are of the same kindred or family; parents and children. However, to be sincere, a lot of believers do not put into practice the love of God poured out in their hearts at new birth (Romans 5:5). Knowing that the love of God in a believer's heart should be stronger than the love found and expressed in their biological families. But the reverse is the case, being human and being sentimental and being carnal, a lot of believers do not allow the love of God deposited in them by the Holy Spirit at new birth to find expression (Romans 5:5). It is not that the love is not there but the believers would not allow it to find expression.
An average believer would sentimentally show love to someone from his or her biological family or clan than to any fellow believer. This is the reason for discriminations and factions in the church. If you unfortunately found yourself under a bigotry pastor, you would see how you are treated by him or her, compared with those who are of his race or tribe or colour or whatever type of affinity or homogeneity.
What is being shared here was found in Apostle Peter's deeds and he was called out by Apostle Paul and reproved openly:
11 NOW WHEN PETER HAD COME TO ANTIOCH, I [Paul] WITHSTOOD HIM TO HIS FACE, BECAUSE HE WAS TO BE BLAMED; 12 FOR BEFORE CERTAIN MEN CAME FROM JAMES, HE WOULD EAT WITH THE GENTILES; BUT WHEN THEY CAME, HE WITHDREW AND SEPARATED HIMSELF, FEARING THOSE WHO WERE OF THE CIRCUMCISION. 13 AND THE REST OF THE JEWS ALSO PLAYED THE HYPOCRITE WITH HIM, SO THAT EVEN BARNABAS WAS CARRIED AWAY WITH THEIR HYPOCRISY. 14 BUT WHEN I [Paul] SAW THAT THEY WERE NOT STRAIGHTFORWARD ABOUT THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL, I SAID TO PETER BEFORE THEM ALL, “IF YOU, BEING A JEW, LIVE IN THE MANNER OF GENTILES AND NOT AS THE JEWS, WHY DO YOU COMPEL GENTILES TO LIVE AS JEWS?" (Galatians 2:11-14 NKJV).
What Peter did in the above passage of the Bible is still being done by many prejudicial or bigotry pastors. Such pastors, elders, leaders, are discriminatory in the way they relate with those who are under their leadership. Could It be said that such leaders in the church do not have the love of God in them? They do have, but they would not allow the love to find expression through them. Could we say Peter who walked and worked physically with Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry did not have the love of God in him? He did have, but he was being sentimental. Remember, in the passage, he was already mixed with the gentiles, eating freely with them (Galatians 2:12), but immediately some Jews came from James, in Jerusalem, he withdrew from associating with the gentiles—he was being fleshly or carnally and sentimentally.
This shows that, in a place where you have a leader who is sentimentally prejudicial, who is fickle, whose emotion can be changed or swapped anytime because of sentiment; you may find yourself in a big mess. If it was not Paul's intervention, because Barnabas who was Paul's companion in the work of ministry which they were doing there in Antioch was already carried away, they would have marginalized the gentiles and that would have wounded the hearts of the newly converted gentiles and automatically caused a break away in that church in Antioch.
What are we really saying here is, there is no affectionate brotherly love in the church as It should be. Even those who are at the leadership of different churches and ministries are not expressing it. If a minister of Peter's status or calibre could be hypocritical, without doubt there are millions of believers and church or ministry leaders who are prejudicial and sentimental in their relationship with the people under their leadership.
Thus, the Holy Spirit's admonition through Apostle Paul is: "BE KINDLY AFFECTIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER WITH BROTHERLY LOVE, IN HONOUR GIVING PREFERENCE TO ONE ANOTHER" (Romans 12:10 NKJV).
The conclusive part of the verse says: " . . . IN HONOUR GIVING PREFERENCE TO ONE ANOTHER" (Romans 12:10 NKJV).
What does this mean:
It means: " . . . HONOUR OTHER PEOPLE MORE THAN YOU HONOUR YOURSELF" (Romans 12:10 Worldwide English (New Testament).
This is the part that many believers found most difficult to practice, because of the selfish nature of human. An average human being is selfish, believers and unbelievers alike, whether white or black or whatever colour of skin; except a believer who has allowed God through the Holy Spirit to deal with his or her carnal nature—mortified or put to death (Colossians 3:5).
As a believer you should not be self-centered, you should always be considerate of others, think of others above or ahead of yourself:
3 LET NOTHING BE DONE THROUGH SELFISH AMBITION OR CONCEIT, BUT IN LOWLINESS OF MIND LET EACH ESTEEM OTHERS BETTER THAN HIMSELF. 4 LET EACH OF YOU LOOK OUT NOT ONLY FOR HIS OWN INTERESTS, BUT ALSO FOR THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS" (Philippians 2:3,4 NKJV).
The true expression of affectionate love is summarized in the above passage of Philippians 2:3,4. Thus, go and practice It.
Peace.