Monday 22 Dec 2008

Monday Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:7-11
 
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:10
10  We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honourable, but we are despised.
 
Devotion:
How often do you compare yourself to others, thinking about how much better they are than you, or even you are than them? We all do compare ourselves to others at some stage – but how often do you really look at the spiritual side of your life when you make those comparisons? And if you do, what is your conclusion? It is easy to think that you are doing all the right things so you must be good... That is the world in which we live in; our success is a show of our dedication to doing the work that lies before us... But sometimes the work that you do does not show up as a great success in your life!

Paul lays down the notion that he is nothing compared to others. He knows full well of all the things that he does in Christ’s name and all the things that people look up to him for... but he tries to use simple words to describe his dedication to Christ rather than to the outside world. We try to measure our good works for Christ by how much we have done and how many people compliment us on the work that we do whereas what we should be doing is getting on with Christ’s work and not caring for the earthly response.

Paul described himself as being a fool, weak and despised. That seemed to be the view that earthly people had made of him and he quite gladly accepted that because he knew that he was doing what Christ wanted and not what man wanted. You see, when we focus on the rewards as if they come from man, then we are going to do what man wants... but if we focus on the reward as from Christ, then we are going to do what Christ wants. When we do that, we can be assured that He is just and willing to give us the reward that we deserve when it is best for us – our eternal life with Him. Why should we care for what the world thinks of us when it cannot pay us for what we do?

Points to Ponder:
What rewards do you look for?

Are you still working for Christ?