A Word to The Crybabies

"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."  -Romans 12:3

"Thinking more highly than one should," in this context, covers more than just being prideful. There are some who regard themselves as victims of what God gives them to deal with (recent experience), and others who hold tightly to negative self-esteem for no reason. They tend to think of their selves so much that the negativity, or their endurance, becomes a focal point of their life whereas the focal point ought to be God being glorified.

To be sober means to think straight and rightly. The writer means for us to think of ourselves with fairness and quietness of mind. Don't add drama to how we understand ourselves or what we are going through. We must not expend excessive energy to diminish our value to our selves, or to prove/justify being the victims of our hardships. Additionally, we should not be so self-centered and proud that we get up on a pedestal for the glory of our suffering to shine. The story isn't all about us: it’s about Jesus.

“More highly than he ought” is equivalent to saying, “more than he ought.” Boasting, complaining, and or just being negative are all wrong: too much attention is on the self. We have to be mindful of how we consider what we're going through. A test from God is not Him being mean to us (victim). It is not Him saying, “look how awful and hopeless you are,” (low self-esteem). It isn't a right to parade how pious we are that we can go through such a horror (prideful). Every experience, happy or hurtful, is an opportunity for us to redirect attention to Jesus. 

When we're sober, we remember that.