Forged For More Series

As Christians, we are called to live a very distinctive way. Being a Christian is a calling to the hard work of shaping the metal of our lives (our character) into a form that expresses God’s masterpiece within all of us. The whole letter focuses on Christian virtue and character and how transforming habits of our mind and heart will demonstrate the power and wisdom of Jesus Christ. A power and a wisdom that is often baffling to the rest of the world.

We opened the new series by reviewing our alternative worldview presented by Paul in the statement “we preach Christ crucified.” We ended last week with the question; does your life reflect the Christ in your heart? This week we move to a larger question, “how?” How do we (you and I) act in ways others in our society scratch their heads and go, “What? Why would you do that?”

Now make no mistake, the people who know you are already watching and judging your actions. Unfortunately, we rarely think about the impression we make. In our lack of attention lies the difference between virtue and vice. A virtue is a learned behavior. There is a conscious decision between what is best and whatever feels good. A vice is a settling for, or a falling into a pattern of, whatever is comfortable, easy and pleasing to the world we have been born into without respect for others or God.

Dr. Stephen L. Anderson, a professor in Ontario, Canada, had what he called a moment of "startling clarity" while teaching a section on ethics in his senior philosophy class. He needed an "attention-getter"—something to shock his students and force them to take an ethical stand. He hoped that this would form a "baseline" from which they could evaluate other ethical decisions. Here's how he explained what happened next: I decided to open by simply displaying, without comment, the photo of Bibi Aisha. Aisha was the Afghani teenager who was forced into an abusive marriage with a Taliban fighter, who abused her and kept her with his animals. When she attempted to flee, her family caught her, hacked off her nose and ears, and left her for dead in the mountains … She was saved by a nearby American hospital. I felt quite sure that my students, seeing the suffering of this poor girl of their own age, would have a clear ethical reaction …. The picture is horrific. Aisha's beautiful eyes stare hauntingly back at you above the mangled hole that was once her nose. Some of my students could not even raise their eyes to look at it. I could see that they were experiencing deep emotions. But I was not prepared for their reaction. I had expected strong aversion; but that's not what I got. Instead, they became confused. They seemed not to know what to think. They spoke timorously, afraid to make any moral judgment at all. They were unwilling to criticize any situation originating in a different culture. They said, "Well, we might not like it, but maybe over there it's okay." Another said, "It's just wrong to judge other cultures." I wondered, "How can kids who have been so thoroughly basted in the language of minority rights be so numb to a clear moral offense?" …. No matter how I prodded they did not leave their nonjudgmental position. I left that class shaking my head. It seemed clear to me that for some students—clearly not all—the lesson of character education initiatives is acceptance of all things at all costs. While we may hope some are capable of bridging the gap between principled morality and this ethically vacuous relativism, it is evident that a good many are not. For them, the overriding message is "never judge, never criticize, never take a position." Dr. Stephen L. Anderson, "Moments of Startling Clarity," Education Forum (Fall 2011)

When we fall into this pattern that all is acceptable depending upon the culture one lives, we fail to recognize that all humans were created to be image bearers of God and that humanity needs God’s direction to forge the beauty inside each one of us. Make no mistake, God wants each of to bear his image in the world TODAY.

Dale Carnegie is reported to have said: "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

This is why Paul is so adamant throughout 1 Corinthians to correct behavior of those who call themselves Christian. Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 6. While you are pulling it up on your app or finding the book which comes after Romans, let me give you a little background. The apostle Paul wrote this roughly 3 years after his extended stay with the new church plant. The letter was written during his second missionary journey and he is trying to get this band of believers to stop their infighting, misunderstanding and creating of factions to return to a church of unity.