From Favoritism to Flourishing- Part 4 of 9: Lowly and Despised Things: 1 Corinthians 1:25-29

This first chapter of 1 Corinthians is one of my favorite passages of scripture. It describes the great reversal where the world's values gets tossed on its head. Now that we have a new standard to live by and have tossed off the old things of the world, assumptions that we used to live every day by, including Favoritism, have no place in our new lives. Not only so, but we now find ourselves making value choices that are exactly the opposite of what the world believes. For example, Favoritism says that weak people should be despised and forgotten. In God's world, we are all weak and we become more usable by God as we grow weaker, not stronger. Here is 1 Corinthians 1:25-29:

25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.

           So what does this mean practically? It means that you shouldn't let your fears of other peoples' opinions dictate your action. This is hard to do at first, but as you spend more time in God's Word and pray for God to change your mind over time, you will be able to see the immense value that even the weakest person has because you look around with God's standard. 
         From personal experience, I've seen that the weaker the person that I try to disciple, the more progress they make in maturing in their faith. I've found that weaker people have less to win by looking at people through the world's eyes, so the process of switching to godly eyes is much quicker and thorough.
        Another practical application is that you need to embrace times of weakness as times of opportunity to rely on God's power. Check out 2 Corinthians 12:9:

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

          What does is it mean to boast in weakness? It means to find joy in situations that put us on the ropes. Those experiences give us a great chance to draw close to God, experience power that can overcome any situation, and, ironically, live life to the fullest. I've found that, as I enjoy times that are difficult, I start to see that every day is a gift from God and an opportunity to do full-time ministry. Good days and bad days are equally usable by God. Waking up with 3 hours of sleep on Monday or waking up to a day of fun on Saturday are on equal ground. Both of those days are capable of being fully enjoyed, just in different ways. This is completely different from the world, which constantly longs for that one day where all the troubles of the world pass away and never finds it.
          There are many consequences of this worldview. In the next two entries, we will look at how living in weakness affects how we treat the weakest among us and how we carry each other's burdens properly before three entries that take us from a place of weakness to Flourishing.
In Christ,
Simeon Snow

From Favoritism to Flourishing- Part 3 of 9: God's Standard: Jeremiah 9: 23-24

Now that we have seen that the world's standard of Favoritism for the strong, beautiful, and wise is to be replaced by God's standard, it is time to look at God's standard. This includes how He values a person and how we should mimic those standards when we value each other. In Jeremiah 9:23-24, it says:

23 This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
    or the strong man boast of his strength
    or the rich man boast of his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast about this:
    that he understands and knows me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
    justice and righteousness on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

          Here, we see that we are not supposed to boast in our wisdom, strength, or riches- a viewpoint that is completely out of line with our culture and world. Instead, this passage says that we are supposed to boast in understanding and knowing God. But watch yourself! It would be easy to interpret this passage to say that we should value ourselves for being super spiritual and increase our value by adhering to spiritual disciplines such as Bible reading or prayer. However, have you applied the terms wisdom, strength, and power to where they exist in the spiritual realm? Spiritual Wisdom can come from spending a long time in the Bible; Spiritual Strength can be found through faith in God; Spiritual Riches can come by letting God rule more and more of your life. The passage says that we are not supposed to boast in any of these. Instead, we are to boast that we share a relationship with our father in heaven and that our God is kind, just, and righteous.
       This view of the self is very much in line with the gospel. This is because we are allowed to stop trying to use good works and spiritual acts to raise ourselves higher in God's eyes and instead approach God solely on the basis of His character and provision.
       This passage also means that we should not value others based on their external qualities or spiritual maturity, but should instead view them in their relationship to God. We see that all Christians have equal access to God's love and resources and mourn for those who have yet to find God. Instead of trying to earn our merit and hide our ugly parts, we see that our wisdom, strength, and riches add no value to us and thus stop trying to convince other people and God that we are wise, strong, or rich. Once we are able to look past these values and see that God wants us to find value in our relationship with Him, we will change in the way that we look at others and ourselves as well as our actions towards them.
     To underscore the fact that we should not replace Favoritism based on wisdom, strength, and riches with Favoritism based on Spiritual wisdom, strength, and riches, look at Luke 10:18-20:

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

      This passage is after Jesus sends out his followers throughout Israel to perform miracles and preach the good news. Here, Jesus warns his disciples not to rejoice in their spiritual wisdom, strength, or riches, but instead that they should rejoice that their names are written in heaven. This means that we should not look down on young Christians or unbelievers who do not have the same spiritual wisdom, strength, or riches that we have. Instead, we are to rejoice in the faith of the young Christians, mourn at the the unbelief of the Non-Christians, and work for both of them to understand and know God. There is no ladder of value to climb in God's kingdom. Once we have come through the gates by accepting Jesus' payment for our sins, we all stand on equal footing. God does not favor one man over against another and we are called to behave in the same fashion. The pastor is as valuable in God's kingdom as the new believer. This is not to say that God doesn't love Non-Christians, but that they possess nothing of value in God's kingdom
       Now that we have seen how all Christians gain equal footing in God's kingdom, it's time to discover something radically new and breathtaking: whatever held us back from being valuable or lovable in the world's eyes is now going to be used by God for his glory, further shattering any notion of Favoritism from God's kingdom and taking us one step closer to a life that Flourishes.
In Christ,
Simeon Snow

From Favoritism to Flourishing- Part 2 of 9: New Standard: 1 Corinthians 2:15-16

         In the first part of this series, I started a discussion about how Favoritism destroys our lives and holds back our growth. Now, starting with 1 Corinthians 2:15-16, we will move away from that sickness to the healthy life of Flourishing that God intended for all of us. In order for us to move away from the standard of the world, we will need to make two discoveries. The first of these is that God has a standard that is distinct from the world's standard, even though they have a few values in common, and we are called to apply it to everything in our life. The second is that the old standard we used to hold to can no longer make claims on us. While we do several things in common with the world (i.e. dress well, work hard, make friends), we now do those same things for completely different reasons than before. Both of these concepts are illustrated beautifully in 1 Corinthians 2:15-16:

15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord
    that he may instruct him?”[a]
But we have the mind of Christ.

          The first concept is shown by "the spiritual man makes judgments about all things" and "we have the mind of Christ". We are called to examine every part of our lives and compare it with scripture. Nothing is held back: thoughts, actions, attitudes, friendships, motivations, plans, etc. To test our lives, we use the new standard that is given to us in the Bible and revealed to us by the mind of Christ when we become Christians. Where Non-believers can only look at the Bible and try in vain to imitate it, we, as Christians, are empowered to see and fix our deficiencies to God's standard by his grace.
           The second concept is shown by "he himself is not subject to any man's judgment " and "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" The first sentence is making an extremely bold statement: I no longer have to accept what the world thinks and says about me. It releases me from the struggle to please those around me and trying to climb ladders from the social ladder among my friends to the power ladder in my workplace. It also means that most of my anxieties should now be destroyed since no one can lower my value by what they say, think, or do. Other people do not control whether I am lovable or important. Even better, this freedom doesn't come from shutting out any opinion that isn't my own, but from submitting to an even better opinion: the opinion of God as revealed by the Bible, prayer, and other Christians (as long as they are encouraging you to follow God's standard as well). We can rest in the confidence that no person has the ability to judge God's opinion or bring its value down and, then, we use that standard to measure our value and lovableness. As we change how we value ourselves, we will transform in how we value other people. This is the only true first step in escaping the clutches of Favoritism and inching towards a Flourishing life.
             How does God's standard compare to the world's? Since I don't have the world to dictate my value, how can I measure it now? Does valuing myself by God's standard mean that I have to be spiritual to be lovable or worthwhile? How do I place value on other people? All this is to follow in the next post in this series as we explore the journey from Favoritism to Flourishing.
In Christ,
Simeon Snow
 

From Favoritism to Flourishing- Part 1 of 9: Favoritism: James 2:1-10

          This will be the first of a 9 part series on moving from Favoritism to Flourishing. This series is a step by step journey in changing the way we perceive ourselves and others that starts by condemning the world's point of view and moves toward a Biblical Perspective that makes your life Flourish. Today we will start off with Favoritism, the approach non-Christians and immature believers take to view themselves and others and redeem that view with each passing entry.
         Favoritism is viewing the world through a perspective that values people based on beauty, fame, riches, popularity, skill, flair, and other external characteristics. Each of us views the world to some degree from this perspective and it shows up in our social interactions, church settings, and self esteem. Wherever Favoritism is allowed to touch, it causes death and destruction and has no place in God's kingdom of love and grace. The Bible touches on Favoritism in James 2:1-10:

 1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

         You may remember the argument that all sins are equal in God's sight. Well, the introduction to the that argument starts at the end of this passage on Favoritism. Favoritism is as much a sin as murder and adultery, just with different consequences. In its own unique way, it causes separation between us and God and each other. There are many different traits that can set this off. We all know people who are awkward, don't dress up to our standards, don't have the right friends, are loud, pushy, or in some other way lose the respect of us and our peers. When we isolate them and make fun of them, we set a standard in the Body of Christ: the more that you have in common with the outcasts, the less that our group will accept you. Sadly, I've found that this happens among believers just as much as with Non-Christians. Few will stand up for or befriend the outcast.
          However, this behavior is completely out of line with the gospel of Christ. Let us consider how Favoritism compares with the famous gospel presentation known as the Roman Road. Its first verse is Romans 3:23:

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

          Here, we see that we are all equally fallen in sin and fall short of God's standard of perfection. However, when we push outcasts out of our social groups, we make some very clear statements against this idea. First of all, we create a subgroup that has fallen shorter of the "perfect standard" than we have. Second, we make our worldly standards higher than "the glory of God". Thirdly, if we can achieve the world's standards, it doesn't matter as much that we have fallen short of God's standard. 
         The next verse in the Roman Road is Romans 6:23:

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

         Here, we see that Favoritism rejects the gift of God and says we must do more in this world to get value and reach a point where we don't deserve death. We say that we don't need grace and, therefore, will now hide our sins from other people in order to meet the world's standards instead of God's standard, which calls for us to confess our sins openly to God and to others. This is expressed in the last verse of the Roman Road, Romans 10:9-10, and in James 5:16. Romans 10:9-10 says:

 9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

          James 5:16 says:

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

          Additionally, 1 John 4:10-11 says:

10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[a] our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

          Here, we see that God loves us despite our sin and dirtiness and how that grace-centered love should motivate us to love others with grace. Christians should never lose love for someone because they have less value in the world's eyes. However, when we let ourselves succumb to our culture and to peer pressure, we stop loving others and start rejecting them. This causes several things. First of all, we will never ever let the world know about our dark side and will stay enslaved to fear of exposure. Second, when we see others fail the world's standards, we will push them down in order to stay afloat, like a drowning victim does while trying to save his life. Thirdly, we push God away because we say that his love is not good enough for us.
           How do we get past this horrible sin and the world of fear and death that it causes? We'll start our first step away from Favoritism in our next post. Stay tuned.
In Christ,
Simeon Snow