Selfishness and pride

If there is one theme that I’m consistently seeing in 1 Corinthians, it’s the problem of selfishness and pride in the Corinthian church. And so time and again, Paul tries to bring them back to what is central: God.

That’s what we see in chapter 8.

Some Corinthians were saying, “I know! I’m mature. I’m strong as a Christian. You don’t know. That’s why you have such a weak conscience concerning things that shouldn’t bother you at all (in this case, eating food offered to idols).”

But Paul reminds them:

“Hey! Remember what’s central here. You’re not living for yourself.

“You know that there is one God. Great! Remember what that means. He made you, and you exist for his purposes.

“You know that there is one Lord, Jesus. Great! Remember what that means. Remember that it is through him that all things were created and that all things, including you, exist.

“You’re not the center. He is.

“Remember this too: your brother (or sister) also loves God and is known by him. And if you destroy someone that Christ died for by your “knowledge,” you’re sinning against Christ, and God will hold you accountable.”

How about you? Where is your faith centered? Is it centered on you? Or is it centered on Christ?

The truth is, the moment we center our faith on ourselves, we lose sight of the gospel. We lose sight of our need for Christ, and we start thinking ourselves better than we are, while judging those around us.

We never outgrow our need for the gospel. So let us keep our lives centered on Jesus and the grace he has extended to us, and in humility and gratefulness live each day for him.