Resist or Delight?

“And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?”

I Corinthians 5:2

“...and you are proud.”

These words were likely very difficult for Paul to write and troubling to his spirit.

As well they should have been.

The church at Corinth had somehow so twisted the grace of God and the truth of His word that some were taking pride in the fact that one of their members was in a sexual relationship with a member of his own family.

We might ask: “How can this be?”

And yet, in many of todays’ churches we have reduced the grace and love of God to an ‘anything goes’ attitude.

We are too willing to accept any behavior because, we think, love will not put any restraints on another persons’ behavior.

You want to test the strength of that argument?

Just see what happens if someone were to prey on your child.

You would not or should not hesitate to restrain that persons’ behavior – and the very thing causing you to do it is love for your child!!

The pride they had as they wrongfully applied their understanding of Gods’ love and grace is what Paul spoke to in the Corinthian letter.

Now we can look down our collective noses to this church or we can humbly recognize how often that history repeats itself today – not just in our churches but in our businesses, schools and politics.

Pride is an ugly thing in us and something God resists.

How much more so when we take pride in those things offensive to God.

May we humbly consider our ways and turn from anything that causes God to resist us and gladly embrace those things that causes Him to delight in us.