Going From Me To We

I hope that everyone’s year has started off in the right direction. One of the best pathways to take into the New Year is looking at everything through the eyes of God. It would certainly change our attitudes and our perspective on life. If our perspective was focused more on “We” instead of “Me”, this world would be a better place.

If we were all honest, we would probably have to admit that we are all guilty of reading a text while we're driving. We see it all the time. People are swerving from their lane into our lane and almost hitting other cars. It can be a serious situation.

The way we live can also impact those around us. What if we could live our lives in such a way that we couldn't merge into other lanes, causing issues for those around us? What if we lived in such a way that we always stayed in our lane, and in doing so, we allow those around us to reach their destination without our interference.

The Apostle Paul wrote about this telling us how we can live in this way. It is a much better way to live, and it will lead us to support others and honor Christ at the same time. Today our text will come from 1st Corinthians chapter 10. PRAYER

As children of God through our faith in Jesus Christ, we have many freedoms. As Christians, we should never take these freedoms for granted, but it's not always the best thing for us to exercise our rights either. This was what concerned the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the believers in Corinth. The people had written to him about a particular issue. The issue was whether it was acceptable to eat leftover food that had been offered to pagan gods. Paul offered some wise, practical instruction regarding the believer's rights and freedoms.

1 Corinthians 10:23-24 – ““Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything builds up. 24 No one is to seek his own good, but the good of the other person.”

As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he used language they were familiar with. “Everything is permissible” was something the people would have heard on the streets of Corinth. Corinth was set in Greece, and as an important port city, it was a gateway for many people, many viewpoints, and many sinful activities. Everything was acceptable for this city. The attitude of the people was that they could do anything because it was available.

Paul acknowledged that, yes, they had access to everything, but not everything would help them live life. The same is true for us. Some of the things that are accessible to us are not going to bring us life. Instead, they may lead to bondage instead of freedom.

Paul continues and says that “not everything is beneficial” or “builds up.” For instance, I can choose to drink sugary soft drinks with every meal. In fact, I can drink them whenever I want. Yet, if this becomes an ongoing pattern, I will gain weight, have a heart issues, and experience other negative effects to my health. Soft drinks are allowed - they are permissible. But they are not in my best interest - they are not beneficial. I hope that makes sense.

Most all of us are prone to think of ourselves first and others second. Paul reminded the church that the kingdom of God is different than the kingdom of this world. In God's kingdom, we think of others above ourselves. That is not normal for us. We want to be first. We want our own way, yet Paul called for us to humble ourselves and allow the focus to be on we, not me.

So the Bible is calling us to see things through a new lens. It's as if we have been viewing the world with less than perfect vision.

Most of you know that my vision is a long way from being perfect. My vision is so bad that it cannot be corrected with glasses. I have to be fitted with specialized contact lenses in order to see more clearly. If I take my contacts out, I am pretty much legally blind. But when I put my contacts in, it corrects my focus and I begin to see more clearly. My focus immediately changes.

In the same way, when we put on the glasses of the kingdom of god, our focus changes. By this I mean, that sometimes good is not simply saying no to sinful things. Yes, that's important, but we also might need to say no to some good things in order to say yes to something better. Like helping our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When we put others before ourselves, we might set aside our rights - that which is permissible - for the sake of others. When we surrender our lives to Jesus, we abandon our earthly standard for a new kingdom normal.