When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
In the middle of 2020, and I can only assume it won't get much better from here, it seems like the world is on fire: first a Pandemic that virtually shut the world down, now riots and political unrest, I can only imagine what will come next. Right now, there's thousands of people in the streets (and many more throughout social media), many peaceful, some nefarious, all shouting, everyone too loud to be heard clearly. It's pandemonium, and quite frankly I can't get behind any of it. Why, you might ask? My answer is simple: any cause that causes the destruction of your neighbor to advance your views is hypocritical, at best, and at worst is purposefully vengeful. If it lacks a unifying message, a cause is meant, at its heart, to claim supremacy over another individual. So many voices vying for dominance equals a white noise of deafening volume. Everyone talking, no one listening. There is, indeed, only one cause that is Just. If you know me by now, you'll know that I'm about to say that it is the cause of Christ, the cause that brings freedom, equality to all, and unifying harmony, if the seeker truly wants the will of Jesus. Disagree? That's fine, but let me ask: is your cause bringing you peace of mind, or stirring up more anger for your fellow man? Is it bringing you true joy, or causing you anxiety? Jesus is calling. There is peace at the Cross, meant to destroy, but now repurposed for renewal. Come to Jesus, where there is no distinction, where "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) In Christ, there is peace, and freedom, equality, and harmony, but only there.
Comments