"Better than You" Christians

Corinthians 3:4 (ESV)
⁴  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

The problem in the Corinthian church exists today. People try to make principles out of their preferences. They try to say they are better than others because of them. They are superior in intellect or spiritual maturity or sophistication. They look down on others because they do not prefer the things they prefer.

I, personally, have had enough with it. I like the ESV Bible but that is a preference. I like both hymns and contemporary Christian music. That, too, is a preference. It does not make me superior. It does not make me more mature. Saying that I am better than others because of it makes me merely human.

The Christian church must become spiritual in its dealings with everything if she is to be in harmony with one another. Making these preferences into principles simply divides us. It makes us spend valuable effort in proving that we are indeed taking the superior position. It makes us think we have arrived at something. And we have. We have arrived at our own human depravity.

So, we gather a group of people around us who are no more spiritual than we are. We make fun of those who aren't like us. We call the contemporary music "Seven Eleven" or say that the hymns have lost their meaning and don't speak to us. We tell people that the Bible translation we use is easier more easy to read or that it has a majestic sound.

I am always involved in church on Sunday mornings and really don't have a real connection with those who aren't. However, since my wife and I are in Singapore and it was her birthday yesterday, my daughter and son-in-law took my wife and I out for breakfast before church as part of her birthday celebration. It was a nice restaurant on the river. There was even a celebrity there. I noticed that these people had no concern whether anything was happening at church. Their lives were completely outside of that environment. They don't know and don't care what version of the Bible we are using. They don't know any of the songs. They do not care if we are Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian or Catholic.

I thought about these people all day. How can the church get caught up in preferences for people who know Christ when those who don't know Him have such an eternal damnation? We will never get an audience with these people which means anything by being merely human.

So, I urge Christians to find where God is working and join Him. Listen to Him and begin new works. Pray for unity in the Church. Be filled with the Spirit.

Get over your preferences. You are not better than anyone.