Easy Faith vs. True Servanthood

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 Corinthians 4 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 

• We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ;
• we are weak, but you are strong;
• you are distinguished, but we are without honor. 

To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; 

• when we are reviled, we bless;
• when we are persecuted, we endure;
• when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; 

we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.  (1 Corinthians 4:8-14, NASB)


REFLECTIONS:
In all honesty, I am not sure what to write.  I am not sure my words would have any greater impact or enlightenment upon what Paul wrote.  He was addressing the pride and arrogance of the Corinthians, which I think can be interposed upon the American Church in general.  I know we can often get into a mentality of comparing ourselves with our brothers and sisters around the world who are truly persecuted and suffering for their faith, and I believe that is something of which we need to remain mindful, however, let’s drill down just a little bit make it personal for us as Americans in the 21st century.

I’m pretty sarcastic, so I always appreciate when either God or the humans He used to author His Word use sarcasm to get their point across.  Paul is in full swing here, it might be his finest use of sarcasm in all his letters.  I broke it down into a format to easily see his use of sarcasm regarding the Corinthians’ judgments and his correlating responses.  Now hang with me here because I’m admitting I’m taking some liberty with Paul’s words but I think it’s a reasonable “what if” scenario.  You see, I discovered that the bulleted points really do correspond and I think therein lies significance for us.  As we go through these, keep in mind this is about our faith—what we are living and doing for Christ’s sake.  While the responses Paul provides in each circumstance are Godly and may be transposed onto other situations, I do not believe we can blindly apply this to all situations outside faith as nuances can alter the responses.

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ.” “When we are reviled, we bless.”  One way we can look at this is:  we are fools for Christ’s sake because when we are reviled, we bless; a prudent person in Christ would never allow themselves to be reviled.  What does it mean to be a fool for Christ’s sake?  Well, it means you are looked down upon, it means you are mocked, it means you are victimized.  What does revile mean?  It means to verbally abuse.  Do you see how Paul uses the language to correspond?!?  I’m sorry; I love this kind of verbal layering!  So the question here is: are we fools for Christ?  Do we accept the mocking, the victimization as part of our role as a Christ-bearer or are we so prudent we won’t allow ourselves near those who might mock us for our faith?  Well, if this was a test, I would probably score a D.  My foray into those types of situations usually involves the computer and internet.  That way I have a safety barrier.  I can “leave” the conversation at will and I can remain relatively unknown.  If I physically remain in the Spicewood/Marble Falls area I can stay relatively insulated with fellow Christians and not have to venture into the arenas which might expose me to a bit of foolishness for Christ’s sake.

“We are weak, but you are strong.” “When we are persecuted, we endure.”  Again, bear with my slight extrapolation:  We are weak because we are persecuted; you are strong because you are not being persecuted.  You might be thinking, “Really, Beth?  People don’t truly think that way.  We don’t think people are stronger because they aren’t persecuted.”  I’m not so sure.  In a way, it’s similar to the judgment we just looked at.  I think there is an underlying mentality we have that says “if you were stronger, you wouldn’t be in that situation.”  If you “endure” the persecution of your faith, then you must be displaying a weakness because we need to fight back; prove our faith is “right,” prove that we can’t be bullied.  Sorry, too often we live as American Christians instead of Christian Americans.  I do.  It’s really something I’m trying to stay mindful of, so that I can let the Spirit transform me.  We are not really at a persecuted level here yet, but I’m not so sure we won’t reach it in my lifetime.  I want to be ready to endure.

“You are distinguished, but we are without honor.” “When we are slandered, we try to conciliate.”  Yes, I’m still using a cause/effect tone:  we are without honor because we are slandered.  Paul again calls out the Corinthians to notice their rather sanitized, white-gloved approach to walking out their faith and it’s a call that matches our lives today.  We hold in high-esteem those who are distinguished.  We take care of the marginalized, we aren’t calloused.  We reach out… but do we become them?  Do we become those who are slandered, those who are without honor?  Not me.  

Sigh.  Are you as depressed as I am right now?  I just went up to bat and struck out three times.  Maybe y’all are doing better—maybe you hit a home run.  I hope so.  I wish I could take this exhortation from Paul and find ways that we, as a whole, are succeeding more than our Corinthian brothers and sisters did.  Instead I just see too many similarities between the healthy, wealthy, and wise Corinthians and the American church today.  Dick Pickens recently confirmed to me something that Tres has said to me as well—I have a prophetic voice.  While I’m honored to know God uses me to speak not-so-pleasant truth, I’m also deeply saddened because I want so much to be one who people want to listen to, not the one that people run screaming from!  I want to be the warm, mushy, gushy, exuding compassion and comfort to everyone, but I have to accept how God has decided to fashion me—how He has decided to gift me (at least for this season).  So forgive me for being a downer, but please hear the heart of God:  He loves you and He wants to see you grow into greater glory—into a clearer image of who He is, so that you may reflect His glory to this world that needs Him so much.  Me too.


PRAYER:
Jesus, I’m sorry for being more American than Christian; for being more willing to put on my fighting gloves than my servant clothing.  Lord, You know my fight against pride in my own life and I pray that You will keep me aware of all the opportunities I have to humble myself so that You will be proclaimed.  Thank You that You continue to instruct me, continue to transform me.  And Jesus, help me receive the gifts You have given me with joy, may You continue to show me how to rightly use those gifts.  I love you, Jesus.


WHO AM I?
Hey.  I’m Beth Peeples and kind of like Leigh Anne (I think) said earlier, I’m running out of clever, new things to share about myself.  In 2003 I trained and ran/walked a marathon in Honolulu, HI.  It was 86 degrees and humid.  Guess if I enjoyed it.  <shakes head emphatically>   If I had trained in Texas it would’ve been a breeze.  Instead, I trained in Bellingham, WA… in the Fall… where the average temperature rarely rose to 50 degrees.  But hey, at least I completed it!  J  Here is a pic of my kids and I nine years ago, right before the marathon.  We all look a little goofy, but I guess pictures capture reality.  Oh, and for the record, Max is a very good and Godly man and I thank God every day for blessing my life with him.  Just had to throw that in there!  J