Today’s Readings: Psalm 120; Joshua 7:16-26; John 7:1-13; 1 Corinthians 8:1-6; Psalm 4
I can sure empathize with Paul in today’s reading from 1 Corinthians. He’s facing a controversial issue that has folks divided down the middle in terms of opinions. A large portion of the group thinks it should be okay to eat the meat non-Christians have sacrificed to their idols; another large portion of the group thinks it should not be okay to eat the meat. From the outside, it would seem Paul’s is facing an impossible situation. As a pastor serving a local church, I can certainly empathize with Paul’s bind - for nearly every aspect of our ministry has a similar ratio involved (half of the group wants it one way and half want it the other). When it comes to the act of centering in worship, for instance, some folks want absolute quiet to center while other folks want centering time to include physical and verbal interaction. When it comes time for service music, some folks want traditional music and others want new music. When it comes to the life of the church, some think the primary emphasis should lie on spirituality and others think it should lie on missions. And when it comes time for the reading of Scripture, some folks want one translation used and others want another. It is largely because of these constant tensions that many individuals leave ministry after a short period of time. So how does a spiritual person navigate through the course of such choppy waters? For me, the key lies in Paul’s words in verses 2 and 3: “We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions – but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all” (1 Corinthians 8:2-3 from The Message). In other words, there are three parts to the answer: (1) humility, (2) humility, and (3) humility. If I were asked to identify the one trait that is most characteristic of those who truly follow Jesus, it would be humility. So what role does humility play in your life? If your not sure, wait until a controversy erupts in some area of your life and watch how you react. You will get an answer to today’s question by watching your response. Til next time…
I can sure empathize with Paul in today’s reading from 1 Corinthians. He’s facing a controversial issue that has folks divided down the middle in terms of opinions. A large portion of the group thinks it should be okay to eat the meat non-Christians have sacrificed to their idols; another large portion of the group thinks it should not be okay to eat the meat. From the outside, it would seem Paul’s is facing an impossible situation. As a pastor serving a local church, I can certainly empathize with Paul’s bind - for nearly every aspect of our ministry has a similar ratio involved (half of the group wants it one way and half want it the other). When it comes to the act of centering in worship, for instance, some folks want absolute quiet to center while other folks want centering time to include physical and verbal interaction. When it comes time for service music, some folks want traditional music and others want new music. When it comes to the life of the church, some think the primary emphasis should lie on spirituality and others think it should lie on missions. And when it comes time for the reading of Scripture, some folks want one translation used and others want another. It is largely because of these constant tensions that many individuals leave ministry after a short period of time. So how does a spiritual person navigate through the course of such choppy waters? For me, the key lies in Paul’s words in verses 2 and 3: “We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions – but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all” (1 Corinthians 8:2-3 from The Message). In other words, there are three parts to the answer: (1) humility, (2) humility, and (3) humility. If I were asked to identify the one trait that is most characteristic of those who truly follow Jesus, it would be humility. So what role does humility play in your life? If your not sure, wait until a controversy erupts in some area of your life and watch how you react. You will get an answer to today’s question by watching your response. Til next time…
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