1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (The Pervasive Problem of Self-Distraction)
In the end, all that matters is what God’s opinion of us and our service is. Ours is to merely labor in a reliable, steady way; to be trustworthy stewards of the time, resources and abilities we are given. God will give the only opinion worth hearing when He returns. Meanwhile, no one’s judgment of our results—even the praise—even our own evaluation—counts for much.
So,
If the “Message of the Cross” is foolishness to the lost but the wisdom of God; (1:18-3:9)
Then the “Messengers of the Cross” are the weak chosen to bring God glory and to shame the world—merely servants and tools—only as valuable as the user who wields them.
All of that makes the praise we give certain leaders—and the camps we divide ourselves into over who we prefer to listen to—all seem rather pointless and silly.
It makes all the countless hours we spend listen to sermons online and reading the latest, greatest book instead of digging deeper into the Scripture or living our life incarnationally where God has placed us seem like a waste of time that could be used by God elsewhere.
We seem to devote too much time to better understanding of minor concepts that could be used simply trusting God and meditating on the single concept that truly matters and deserves all of our attention.
We probably waste too much of our time “navel gazing” in the name of accountability, evaluation, and improvement (all worthy concepts) when we should be focusing on God and those around us instead of living inside our heads and second guessing every decision we make.
So,
If the “Message of the Cross” is foolishness to the lost but the wisdom of God; (1:18-3:9)
Then the “Messengers of the Cross” are the weak chosen to bring God glory and to shame the world—merely servants and tools—only as valuable as the user who wields them.
All of that makes the praise we give certain leaders—and the camps we divide ourselves into over who we prefer to listen to—all seem rather pointless and silly.
It makes all the countless hours we spend listen to sermons online and reading the latest, greatest book instead of digging deeper into the Scripture or living our life incarnationally where God has placed us seem like a waste of time that could be used by God elsewhere.
We seem to devote too much time to better understanding of minor concepts that could be used simply trusting God and meditating on the single concept that truly matters and deserves all of our attention.
We probably waste too much of our time “navel gazing” in the name of accountability, evaluation, and improvement (all worthy concepts) when we should be focusing on God and those around us instead of living inside our heads and second guessing every decision we make.
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