Saturday 10 Nov 2012

Saturday Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:24
24  Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.

Devotion:
Which brings us on to the final point this week. If we really do follow Christ’s teaching then we should be looking out for others, not just because we want to be friends with them but because we really do care about their well-being. And by well-being I am not just talking about keeping them happy but to be able to reach out to them and show them that you care – not just in words but in deed!

Just because the rules say that I can do something does not mean that I should go ahead and do it! The law in the UK says that you are not allowed to smoke in public places, but it does not prevent you from smoking all together. If we look at it from another direction, if we smoke in a public place we are placing other people in danger or at the very least annoying other people. Or from another angle, we can smoke in private and still be putting our own health at risk. The overall feeling of this must then be that smoking is not just bad for yourself, but it is bad for everyone around you as well – so why go there? Yes I know that there are people who have smoked for so long that they find it almost impossible to give up; that is a consequence of following bad advice and decisions for too long.

We do have to start thinking about others around us and to start thinking not just of the immediate consequences of our actions but the longer term consequences too. This is not a big brother approach nor a ‘we own you’ attitude but just common decency. The basis of all of this is that one thing we call love – being able to share love with others will go so much further than any rules and regulations as well as much further than any amount of knowledge.

Self-gratification rather than lifting up others is something that we are all guilty of at some stage; the more that we go there, the more that we think we can go there. It really is habit forming and it is not a good habit to have either. If people would focus on helping others rather than focus on making it look like they are doing the right things we would get further in life too; the more we follow the rules the more that we try to make it look like we are doing something whilst actually doing something else. We are then guilty of telling lies to ourselves as well as the people around us and doing it in front of our God without thought for the consequences either. It is hard to break habits, but we do have to start somewhere if we plan to try – let that be here and now by asking God for help along the way.

Points to Ponder:
Do you uphold the law?

Or do you uphold others?