Today’s Reading: Joshua 9; Joshua 10; Joshua 11; 1 Corinthians 6
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:1-8
1 If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers!
7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.
Observation: Paul rebukes the Corinthians. But notice what he does and does not rebuke them for. He does not rebuke them for having disputes between believers in the church. Paul understands, and so should we, that disputes are a normal part of being in any family, and that's what the church is -- a family. So disagreements, arguments, fights, and disputes are a normal part of church life that we should expect and work out with God's grace and wisdom.
However, because the Corinthians are doing otherwise, Paul does rebuke them for not being able to settle their disputes within the church. He even goes so far as to say that it is better, as a Christian, to accept being a victim of another believer's cheating or other intentional wrong action against you than to take your dispute outside the church! In Corinth, they were even filing lawsuits against one another in court.
Application: Many in today's church, unfortunately, do much the same thing. They take their offenses and indignation and present their case to others, both within the church and outside, in the form of gossip and backbiting. They feel justified because they were wronged in some way. What is so sad is that this has the same negative impact on the testimony of the church as the actions that Paul spoke against. Outsiders and insiders are infected with the poison of conflict and soured on the church. People who were uninvolved with the conflict are drawn into it and the problem grows like an infection, damaging the church and many people in it. Many who need the message of hope the church brings turn away from the church because of being exposed to this kind of thing. It is so unfortunate and I know it makes our Lord sad. And it should make us sad. So many so-called Christians have never truly solved a dispute in the biblical way, or have never been willing to be wronged for the cause of unity for which Jesus prayed.
Bottom line: When you have a conflict within your church family, stay and solve it. If you can't get the result you want right away, accept it and stay put. Love the people you are in conflict with -- forgive them. Don't speak evil against them to anyone. Offer yourself to God as a sacrifice of love and forgiveness rather than harming the Body of Christ.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for all ways in which I have contributed to conflicts with my brothers and sisters that have resulted in harm to your children and your Church. Help us to truly take to heart your heart's desire that we abide in unity and self-sacrifice, being willing to be offended rather than to take up our cause against a brother or sister. Lord, may your church rise up in unity and love. Bring us back to the basics of greatest commandments: loving you with all of our mind and soul and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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