Love Builds Up
1
Corinthians 8 begins with a great quote, and I need to focus on it. “Knowledge puffs up, love builds up. If any of us imagines that he knows
something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.” I love this quote and wish that this quote
would be used more often and tattooed across every blog post I write and every
sermon that I give.
I remember
thinking about my dad when he would give a Bible Study or give a sermon. I would think, “Man, this guy really knows
His stuff.” I would also think, “I can’t
wait for the day when I know my stuff that well, too.” The truth is, I’m still waiting for that day
to come.
I write
blogs, I lead Bible Studies, I preach sermons, and I have one-on-one
discipleship conversations. I often feel
like I am in a position of being “the guy who appears to have it all figured
out.” Ha! I wish that were true. But the reality is that I have just as much
to learn as the next guy. I don’t have
faith all figured out, and I certainly don’t have all the answers as to how to
apply faith in every situation. I’ve
only begun to break the tip of the iceberg on that one!
Yet, we
are still called to proclaim. We are
called to make disciples. So even though
I know I don’t have it all together and all figured out, I must proclaim what
God has taught me. I must do it
confidently. This is true for all of us
who genuinely possess the Holy Spirit.
None of us know as we ought to know, but we do know what God has taught
us. We must learn to proclaim what we do
know while realizing just how much we don’t know. It’s a weird balance of looking like we know
everything from the outside perspective but internally feeling like we know so
very little. I think that’s a good place
for the Christian to dwell.
Do Not Make Unclean …
Then Paul
turns to talk about eating food sacrificed to idols. His general point in this is actually quite
simple: everything that is not inherently sinful should never be made to be
sinful. However, neither should I go
around doing things that are not sinful if there are people around me who are
not spiritually mature enough to see it as not being sinful.
Here’s an
example. I was watching a documentary
one day about illegal prostitution in Las Vegas. A major portion of the show was dedicated to
a particular ministry that has been organized to reach out to these
prostitutes, meet with them, talk with them, explain to them the emotional and
spiritual damage being done by their involvement in that profession, and help
them get out of that life and into a Christian frame of mind. They would help them find a supportive
Christian community, find money to go back to school, find an education, or
even find a job that isn’t prostitution.
I began to think that it was an absolutely phenomenal ministry to a
people who desperately need to hear God’s love.
But then I also began to think about how most churches in America would
respond to intentionally going out and targeting prostitutes and meeting with
them in order to develop relationships with them. I’m willing to bet that many American
Christians would look skeptically at such a ministry – and look especially
skeptically at any male pastors who would be active in such a ministry! So Paul’s advice here is great. Do things where people are ready to
understand, embrace, and support God’s calling.
But realize that not every location is ready and willing to support
every possible act that a Christian can have in this world. This idea brings us back to where we started. This idea reveals knowledge being balanced by
love.
Right To Receive Reward
1
Corinthians 9 is a long chapter about whether or not a worker in the kingdom of
God has the right to receive support.
Paul does a great job explaining the topic from both a standpoint of
logic and Scripture. Paul also talks
about his right to refuse support, too.
The
underlying point of this chapter is that rights need to likewise be balanced by
love. A worker has a right to be
paid. Someone who does labor for the
benefit of another person has a right to receive compensation for the act. However, the worker does not have the right
to fleece the person who is receiving the benefit. The worker does not have the right to demand
an exorbitant price. Additionally, the
worker also has a right to do the action out of love for the other person if
that is at all possible. All of these
concepts must be understood and employed.
So what do
we as Christians learn from this? Work
the work that God has called for you to do.
Receive a reasonable reward for this work. But do not receive more than is
reasonable. And if possible, work out of
love so that we can be an example of God’s generosity in our own life.
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