Love Builds Up

Text: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Focus: Loving others

Function: To help people escape legalism and embrace loving encouragement.

Form: Story telling

Intro:

A couple of stories to introduce the theme.

A long time ago, the Chicago White Sox had a pitcher, a young man, who was doing well.

One night, Downtown Chicago, a group of Christian Street evangelists sang some music, talked to him about his eternal destiny and he was converted to Christianity.

He soon realized that playing baseball, for him, was to much of a distraction from his Christian journey. So he quit to become the famous, full-time Christian evangelist, Billy Sunday.

And throughout most of his preaching career, he preached against the evils of baseball.

He was sincere. But since baseball was a false god, an idol, to him, he projected that on everyone else and made a sort of false set of “rules” for holiness

When I was in Seminary, during a lunch break, I was playing Mahjongg on my laptop computer.

That week, we had a guest professor who was a full-time missionary to Hong Kong.

He happened by my seat, saw me playing Mahjongg Solitaire, and promptly informed me that in China, and Hong Kong, Mahjongg tiles are used like playing cards are here. They gamble with them.

I guessed where he was going with his statement because I was raised in one of those households that was not allowed to use playing cards since people here in the West gamble with them and, as Christians, we are called to avoid the appearance of evil.

But I let him stew for a bit. He just stood there and finally he said to me: “Aren't you going to quit playing the game now?”

I paused.

He went on: “Since they gamble with it in Hong Kong.”

Well, by this time, he had drawn a line in the sand.

Based on today's scripture lesson, the application principle is to limit my freedom when there is a chance that I might cause a weaker brother to stumble. You know, you might feel free to drink wine, but you certainly wouldn't want to offer a glass of wine to a recovering alcoholic. So, I had to gauge whether or not my continuing to play the game would weaken his conscience so much that when he returned to Hong Kong, he would eventually be caught up in the evil sub-culture of gambling with Mahjongg tiles.

Well, it seemed obvious to me that my playing a puzzle game with Mahjongg tiles on my computer, which isn't actually the game of Mahjongg where some gamble was not going to cause him to stumble in his faith and fall back into a previous sin. I doubt that he ever had a Mahjongg gambling addiction.

His concern was probably back to the principle of avoiding the appearance of evil. And of course, since none of his Hong Kong constituency was here, I had little doubt that I was causing any of them to stumble as well.

So I was faced with another dilemma. And this might even get closer to the whole point of the lesson, the title of the Sermon, based on the bulletin for this week: Love builds up.

Because now, all of a sudden, there is a power dynamic going on.

He is the professor, expecting to be respected. I am the student, anxiously desiring for this intelligent man to see the light of of inspiration inside of my own mind. Did I mention that he was also the son of the Dean of the Seminary?

My dilemma: Do I back down? Do I put up the game? Do I give him a snide remark exposing his legalism, maybe even his own power issues? Or do I fulfill this scripture and remember, Love builds up. How do I fulfill this scripture, Love builds up?

Fortunately, for me, my brain isn't that quick and the snide remark option isn't coming for a couple of hours or days. But now, there is email and text messages :(

In one sense, his words to me are an act of injustice. This is a form of power dynamic that does not represent the whole attitude that Jesus taught when he said: “Whoever wants to be your leader needs to be the servant of all.”

I eschew legalism in the Church.

Legalism has been responsible for unnecessary exclusion, misguided values and even institutional violence inside the Church at many times throughout its history.

So here I am, in this awkward situation, with my professor asking me to comply with a perceived holiness statement that has no application to Western culture.

I wonder. Does he want me to stand in awe of his missionary work?

Does he need me to validate his sacrifice in living thousands of miles away from home in order to serve Christ?

Is he asking me to appreciate him?

Is he on some sort of power trip?

Or is he a legalistic Christian who does not yet fully understand grace and since there is no real chance that my continuing to play this game is going to cause him to fall into the evil sin of gambling in the dark corners of Hong Kong, do I try to lovingly show him that God's grace would cover him, even if he started gambling?

Does he really think that God cares that much about whether or not he gambles?

I don't gamble. I am not a very good liar. But my boys are great at Texas Hold-em. And it is just fun, for them.

I didn't know what to do, so I prayed, silently.

All of this while this man is standing over me with this look like “are you going to comply or not?”

I decided not to comply. I hope it was the right thing.

I think I said: I appreciate your work in Hong Kong, but since this is merely a puzzle, and not the actual game of Mahjongg, and gambling with Mahjongg tiles has not become an issue of our collective Christian witness in the West, I am going to keep playing.”

The clever, snide remark that I came up with later was: “well, if you start gambling with Mahjongg tiles in Hong Kong, when you get to heaven, you can blame me.”

And I am glad that I didn't go negative. Because, what this passage of scripture teaches us is this: Love builds up.

Say it with me: Love Builds Up!

Love does not seek to be proven as the most resourceful, the most clever, the best wit, the holiest person, the most righteous, the better Christian, or the one with the best grasp on the Holy Scriptures, the person, as the text says: “with more knowledge.”

Nope. It is simple: Love builds up.

Knowledge, the text says, even biblical knowledge, can provoke us to pride.

I remember as a young Christian, sorting through theology, reading the Scriptures and having the words jump off the page, speaking directly to me and giving me new insights into the nature and love of God.

I remember how after God showed me something, I couldn't understand why no one else got it.

And someone said this to me: “where you a Christian before you understood that?”

And of course, I was.

“And where did you learn it?”

I would answer: “God showed me.”

“Then don't be frustrated with others. You were a Christian before, and you are a Christian now. Let God, let the Holy Spirit work in other people's lives just as God works in your life.”

Knowledge puffs people up. But love seeks to build others up.

And I think it takes discernment to know the difference.

Pride is a sin that we all face.

The balance point, the practical consideration is to ponder at all times whether or not what we are doing builds others up, or tears them down.

Specifically, brother Paul is discussing a point of conflict within the early Church as to whether or not it is okay to eat meat that at one time was sacrificed to idols.

I understand that it was cheaper meat.

But some people, having come out of an idolatrous culture/religion/lifestyle, would be afraid that they were falling back into a sin if they had anything to do with idols.

And I imagine that argument got heated.

One might say: “but it is cheaper, and if I pray over it, and my God is the only true God, then it gets sanctified and whatever spiritual effect, if any, that the idol sacrifice may have had is null and void.”

Others might say: “idols are fake gods and no matter what, they aren't real.”

And others, with scriptures like “avoid the appearance of evil,” and “separate yourselves from idols,” and even Paul himself, two chapters later in the same letter to the Corinthians warns them about things sacrificed to demons might say: trust God, even though the meat costs more, He will provide. Just keep yourself pure.

And here is the thing.

Those who are not offended by the meat offered to idols should not laugh at those who are. And those who are offended should not judge or criticize those who aren't offended.

Apparently this question of legalism was pretty big in the early Church. The entire Chapter of Romans 14 addresses the issue as well.

And the principle laid down is that those whose faith isn't bothered should not ridicule or hold in contempt those who can't. And again, those who can't should not judge those who do.

So, was my professor judging me? Or, was I holding him in contempt? I think if I had come up with the snide and clever remark at the time, then I would have sinned against him.

I hope that holding him accountable to his own power issues helped him.

I have no idea what power dynamic was going on with him. All I can do is hope that I was gracious enough to call out his own power issues without disrespecting him. I think I was.

And I need you to understand that all that matters is the lesson God is teaching me, not him.

God was using this circumstance to inform me about my own understanding of this very passage of scripture.

Love builds up.

Now, I have a few practical points.

1). When in a disagreement, or conflict about these issues, leave room for God to work in your own hearts. For every person involved, God can work with that person as God wants.

In that situation, maybe God wanted me to work with my pride. And most likely, God didn't want me to work on his power issues. That is God's work in him. Whatever God was doing with the other person was between them and God.

2). Don't merely arm yourself with bible verses to win a conflict. Leave room for the gentle, loving leading of the Holy Spirit. If we merely want to win a conflict, then we have already lost the principle that love builds up.

I sat on the listening team when the COB discussed how we would react to licensing and ordaining homosexual persons. In my opinion, to many people showed up at those meetings to be heard instead of to listen.

Listen to James 1:19 It is good for a person to quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.

3). And finally, do everything out of love and concern for the other.

Father Gaudet was an elder Catholic Priest at the parish in Fortville, IN.

I became a good friend to him. He was a coffee sufficianodo.

At my first encounter with him he said this: “I got saved 16 years ago.”

Getting saved was and is an important phrase among evangelical Christians. One doesn't hear it as much in other circles.

He went on to explain how grateful he was to be serving this very small Catholic parish. At least he had a chance.

And one day, he told me about his children. Again, I thought it odd.

But his conversion was from the life of an alcoholic. God set him free. And now, the Catholic Church that he served used grape juice for communion. Love builds up.

Prayer: God, help us to remember that you are still at work in our own lives. Let us live our lives in communion with you, looking to ourselves, guarding our pride and living to love and serve others.