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1 Corinthians 6:8
NKJV
No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do
these things to your brethren!
NLT
Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and
cheat even your fellow believers.
“You yourselves do wrong and cheat: There is no place
for dishonest dealing by Christians; how much less place is there for
dishonest dealing among Christians! Many have rejected the things of God
and the fellowship of the saints because of dishonesty and cheating among
Christians.” (Enduring Word)
As I continue this path in chapter 6, I think this is where
it seems to me Paul hits them with the difference between “winning” and “doing
the right thing”. Our whole culture is based upon winning; so was the Corinthians
and if we’re being honest…so is the church. Be first and it doesn’t matter who
you step on to get there. I get it, I’m a bit competitive myself…who doesn’t
like to win? The Corinthians were so far from acting on the given advice, that
instead of taking wrong…they were doing wrong. Instead of suffering for the
Kingdom, they were causing suffering in the Kingdom. Are we different? Paul was
specifically indicting the Corinthian believers on whether they’d lied,
cheated, or stepped on fellow believers. But I’d like to expand that. Have
we done this to anyone, believers or not?
If I examine myself in a bright light, I can look at times
where I have been a Corinthian. The low hanging fruit is to say, “I shouldn’t
have done that, but it didn’t hurt anyone” Well, if I go a little higher in the
tree and get some of that high hanging fruit, the stuff that’s a little harder
to get to, that hurts more when I pull at it…it did hurt someone and I repented
and sought forgiveness from them. We must repent when we do wrong, we must make
an effort to do right. Zacchaeus didn’t just repent; he paid back fourfold
(Luke 19:8).
Hippocrates wrote in talking about physicians and disease:
“The physician must... have two special objects in view with
regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm."
This is the minimum standard! We have a Savior that came and
did more than “no harm.” Jesus didn’t set the bar at neutral; He took our sins
and carried them to a horrific sacrifice for you and me. He took our sins on Himself
because He loves us. The Corinthians’ real failure wasn’t just harming others;
it was refusing to take on harm for their brothers and at times inflicting the
harm. Let’s redefine what “doing good” is, because “to do no harm” is lukewarm.
Doing good should be us serving sacrificially; It should be us absorbing harm
for the sake of others. What harm are you willing to absorb? Name it. That’s where
the work is.
More than do no harm,
Pastor Cory
Love this!
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