1 Corinthians 8:1-3
As we go through life
accumulating knowledge on different subject matters; we are reminded today that
the greatest thing we must learn to do is to love… The main difference between
knowledge and love is that knowledge is shown predominately by what you say and
love is something which is demonstrated by your actions… This is why our set of
focus verses starts off by saying knowledge puffs up but love builds up…Knowledge centers around the individual
whereas love centers around the individual’s ability to build themselves up
through the building of another… We have to be about building up each other
instead of trying to accumulate knowledge that we can use to better ourselves
or our appearance to others… Knowledge is one of the most deceptive downfalls
of a Christian, this is not to stay you are to be dumb, but that you must apply your knowledge in a way that God can use
it and be exalted and not allow knowledge to lead you down a road of being
conceited and separated from the will that God has devised for you… Paul writes this letter to
the Church of Corinth speaking from his own experiences…
It’s imperative that we remember who Paul was (originally Saul) and how he
persecuted the church of “the way…” It was the knowledge that
puffed up inside him and led him to conducting acts that were not of God… We
must be careful of the things that serve as tools of motivation in our lives…
Our hearts desire must be pleasing God; however, for many of us this desire
take root in trying to up one another through pride and ego’s… Jesus came to
this earth and served mankind; make no mistake about it, He was better and
superior to mankind but He still humbled Himself and fulfilled the need that
mankind had… Today, take a lesson from Jesus and read these verses recorded in
Paul’s letter, learn to humble yourself and serve the needs of others… The best
way to humble yourself is to not give way to thinking you not everything or
that you can’t learn from somebody else… Paul says, “The man who thinks
he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know…” You can
never become complacent in your learning nor can you think that people can only
learn from you… We must have a burning desire to study God’s word continually
and grow with Him… I use the word burning because this fire cannot be
put out! You can’t allow the enemy to trick you nor can you
allow the enemy to trap you or ensnare you by believing that you have reached
the level in which God has called you too reach… Again, Paul thought he was
there, but on the Damascus road he realized that he had so much more
work to do… I firmly believe that every day you see on this earth is because
there are new heights for you to reach and new bridges for you to cross… When
your focus and the motives of your actions are centered around impressing
others you begin to inflate a (n) ego within yourself that actually will end
with you pushing others away; on the contrary, when you are about love you
humble yourself and create avenues in which others may get closer to you… Through love we build each other up and exalt
one another, when we are about knowledge we leave others behind and create a
(n) atmosphere of me, myself and I… Paul’s letter to
the church of Corinth reminds us today of the importance of
remaining humble and seeking the word and will of God! He draws a very sharp
distinction between knowledge and love; often times we look at knowledge and it
causes us to feel “puffed up” or boastful about the degrees
and other achievements we have, in a spiritual since knowledge can cause us to
look down on others and act as if we are “holier than thou…” People in
the church of Corinth had begun to take this approach
toward new believers and it was causing a great multitude of the new Christians
to remove themselves from the church… Be careful of the knowledge you obtain,
because you will be accountable for how you use it! To know something is one
thing, but to know how to use it is another… Paul says that knowledge
puffs up, but love builds up; you may know God’s word, but you are not
walking in it until you can demonstrate His love… Love is unconditional, love
doesn’t cast down, love doesn’t close doors and love doesn’t cut or create
wounds… As a child of God our mission is to exalt Christ and the church; we
have been given the knowledge to do so, but we aren't doing it! This
is what Paul is saying, you can study God’s word all you want and be able to
quote scriptures all day long, but if you are not exalting your fellow man or
helping the neighbor in need you are misusing the knowledge that you have
obtained! Paul goes on to say that the man who thinks he knows something
doesn’t, we will never know all the secrets that God has for us and His people
and it is for that reason that we must remain humble and always seeking His
word and will… We can’t become complacent in our walk with God, we can’t become
fulfilled in our drive to know Him and His word; when this happens we have
become “puffed up” we have put ourselves on the level of God
as if we can’t learn anything else from Him (Lucifer is a prime example of a
puffed up attitude)! We all have heard the saying that knowledge is power and
if we believe that let us remember that the only knowledge we have is that
Christ loved us enough to give His life and will come back for His bride!
Knowledge is power because it should help us to remain humble and steadfast,
avoiding the traps of the enemy and always trying to live a life pleasing to
the Lord! No Jesus, No Heaven;
Know Jesus, Know Heaven…
BE BLESSED!!!
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