GETTING STARTED
I remember many conversations between my (now grown) children when they were teens. Each was convinced they were right. Christmas money, chores, and bragging rights hung in the balance. Why? So one of them could be right? We laugh at this, but often adults do the very same thing. We sit in smug arrogance thinking, “I know I am right. I am justified.” Perhaps the best question to ask is not, “Am I right?” but, “Am I right with God?” In this passage, some members of the church in Corinth had allowed their knowledge to supersede their love of God.
- How have you let the pride of being right overshadow the blessing of relationship?
READ THE WORD: 1 CORINTHIANS 8:1-3 (ESV)
8:1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
DIGGING DEEPER
- According to Paul, what did the people of the church in Corinth possess (vs. 1)?
- What issue was the source of their conflict (vs. 1)?
- How were some believers in the church behaving (vs. 1)?
- In calling out their arrogance, what did Paul identify as the root of their conflict (vss. 2-3)?
- How have you cared more about knowledge than about love? How does your relationship with God impact what you value more?
RESPOND TO GOD
My kids laugh now about what they were once willing to battle over. As they have grown older, they value their relationship more than who is right. In this short passage, Paul reminds us of this same important truth. The way we view ourselves, and the way we treat each other, flows from our relationship with God. The closer we are to him, the more we realize he is the only one that is truly right.
- Ask God to reveal where you value being right more than your relationship with him or others.
- Ask forgiveness for those times when you have chosen pride over his presence.
- Pray that the knowledge you have will not puff up, and that God will fill you with love that builds others up.