1 Corinthians 3: As a matter of fact, my
friends, I could not talk to you as I talk to people who have the Spirit; I had
to talk to you as though you belonged to this world, as children in the
Christian faith. 2 I had to feed you milk, not solid food,
because you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready for it, 3 because you still live as
the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel
with one another, doesn't this prove that you belong to this world, living by
its standards? 4 When one of you says, “I follow Paul,”
and another, “I follow Apollos”—aren't you acting like worldly people?
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Saying “I don’t know”
was forbidden in my immature mind. I needed to be special and have the answers
and be right. Even when slightly wrong, I was right. I got jealous at those who
“did” have the answers and was quick to argue. My questions were from a place
of envy and combativeness rather than love and peace. I was still a child.
Many times I wanted
to be ready and was not.
Many times I wanted
to be mature and was not.
Many times I wanted
to be able to hear deep truths, but could not because I was jealous and
quarrelsome.
Paul eased into an
issue he saw with the believers in Corinth. While they were excited about GOD
and were ready to preach about JESUS, they were still acting immature in the
faith. The world could not see anything different from the Corinth believers
than from itself. By being divisive, they acted just as bad, if not worse than
those who did not believe in JESUS.
GOD wants me to grow
up and drop my jealousy of others.
GOD wants me to grow
up and stop being ready to argue at the drop of a hat.
GOD wants me to grow
up so I can hear deeper truths HE wants to give me.
Acting like the
world closes my ears. I mean, when I follow the world’s ways, I cannot hear the
leading of the HOLY SPIRIT. I will be too busy trying to please the world. BUT
GOD is a forgiver. HE sees my immaturity and understands I need help to grow/
HE places me in
situations where I have to believe in HIM and seek HIS food. When I stop
following the world, I get hungry for GOD’s food. I am glad HE forgives me and
desires to feed me daily.
Are you ready to
fight at a moment’s notice?
Does “that” person
make you think of combat or partnership?
Will you examine
yourself to see if you are jealous or combative and stop looking to live by the
world’s standards and seek GOD so HE can grow you today?
