The Devotional - 1035 - Foot Steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

The Devotional – 1035 – Foot steps in First Corinthians, ongoing

Sharpening ones senses is something we do as automatic as walking down the block of any street in our local town. For example; the first time down the street, we seek to be keenly aware of what is going on around us. The aroma, noise, traffic, people and a host of other signals sharpened by awareness will allow us to travel that way again, or avoid it. As the days pass, when something is out of order, a stranger, a different smell, a certain light not on and the mind seeks to pin point the potential problem; that is if there is one. This of itself is not judging it is simply being aware of our surroundings. 

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – 1 CORINTHIANS 6:1-11

In the church; the burden of “judging” rides the same highway of our daily walk in the neighborhood. Choosing the stranger for example, some of us see a stranger and nearly strangle them to glean all of the news they can about them, these are gossips. Others say nothing to the stranger at all, but they will look at the strangers clothing, the type of car they drive, how many children are visible and the overall mannerisms of the family. 

What we see in others is nothing more than what we see in ourselves. This is why we think we know what people are up too, even though the thought of what we think of them has never entered their mind. We are not mind readers, but we are mind thinkers and normally we cannot get past what we know about our self and that is the selfish problem that breeds havoc in many relationships within the local assembly. The LORD is fully aware of this!

Some fellowships are full of gossips and judging and some are not, but the potential of this sin is always seated near the door. (Genesis 4:7). God’s favor over Abel’s offering was simply to show Cain that he could have done better and Cain judged the circumstance wrongly and killed his brother. Spiritually we do this in our fellowships without as much as a blink of the eye.

Another fault among the church family is going to court, suing someone within the congregation. Mostly these lawsuits involve gossiping and judging, yet some are weightier. The apostle is clear. The church family has the responsibility to bring to a peaceful end all such events. Yes, no one wants this responsibility and no one should, but we do not live and fellowship within a “perfect church”. 

Our ministries are developed from people who fit the description of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and we all, must strive in the Spirit of our God to remain “sanctified” since we have been justified and washed from the filth of the world by our LORD Jesus, then within the authority of the church we can and do judge properly. Gossiping and Judging apart from the authority given in scripture is sanctimonious (only a pretense of a good sacrifice, like that of Cain’s).