Life Lesson VI - This Ain't About You

I invest most of my time in me. And I am able to report that I am getting better at taking good care of myself. I make sure that I am clean. I make sure that I eat. I make sure that I do things that make me happy. Why, I am even successfully dieting and exercising to prolong my life! Beyond just the proper stewardship of my life, I find that what I want and what I need make up most of my priorities for the day. I am consumed with myself. Sadly, this isn’t who Jesus called me to be.

Often in churches, just before communion, the pastor will read from I Corinthians 12. In the course of the reading, along with the explanation for communion, the pastor will read the ominous warning about taking the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner.” This causes the congregants to begin searching their hearts for any secret sins. However, what Paul is talking about is not just generic sin in the lives of believers. We are all sinners. Paul is talking about the specific sin of the Corinthians’ selfishness and their neglect of one another.

In verses 20-22 of I Corinthians 11 Paul writes:

“When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!”

The specific sin in the Corinthian church was their lack of concern about each other – they were focused only on themselves – not each other. They wanted to make sure that they had all that they wanted with no concern for their brothers and sisters. Can you imagine the transformation which would occur in churches today if the pastor said, "Before we take communion, if you are guilty of having neglected another member of our body or selfishly pursuing your own goals, I want to give you the opportunity to confess your sin and make amends.." Speaking for myself, it would be a few hours before I would be able to get to the communion table.

If I am to follow Jesus, I cannot base my life around myself. I cannot spend my days building my kingdom, investing in my causes and pursuing my interests. I must be willing to devote the same energy and intentionality to the concerns of my brothers and sisters as I am to my own challenges. This is the only way that the ideal to care for one another deeply and actively can ever be achieved. Paul writes that “…there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it (1 Corinthians 12:25-26 - NIV). This kind of unity can never take place as long as I am focused on myself.

Life Lesson VI – This isn’t about me.