The Corinthian church In the first century, had some thorny issues: sexual immorality, people getting drunk during the Lord’s supper, and weaker brothers were being browbeaten for their lack of knowledge. While we might not be able to relate to having a drunk guy interrupt communion, we can relate to the issue Paul addresses in chapter 12. He says this, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” The members there in Corinth were clamoring for spiritual gifts as a way to distinguish themselves. Paul had to show them a more excellent way, because one-upping each other as a mere show of spiritual giftedness, is contrary to the way the gifts are supposed to work.
For Kirkers, this temptation manifests in two ways. Either you compare yourself to a high octane Christian, find yourself lacking, and start in with the self-flagellation. Or, you hold up your spiritual gift for everyone to see. So first, a word about comparing yourself to others. If you struggle with this, our community will not make it easier. Amongst us are doctors and lawyers, authors, conference speakers, scientists, business owners, movie makers, entrepreneurs, illustrators, professors. And you say, “I’m not any of those things. I’m just a lowly…” fill in the blank. Maybe you’re lazy. Maybe you lack faith. Or it could be neither of those and God wants to use you and your gifts in ways that are, to use Paul’s phrase, “less presentable but more honorable.” Many of the Corinthians were not wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. Reject the falsehood, that you have nothing to contribute to the body. Even the person who is given only one talent, is expected to turn a profit. You must examine yourself and use what God gave you.
If you want to hold up your gift for all to see, you don’t actually want to help anyone; you just want to be worshiped. Jesus says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” The gift of generosity, or any other gift for that matter, is meant to be used, but if you are trying to sideload self-glorification, you have distorted its true intention. Your gift is not a pedestal for personal acclaim but a vessel through which you can serve others and honor the divine source from which it flows.
Daniel Namahoe – April 28, 2024
