1 Corinthians 10.23-24 23 “I have the right to do
anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do
anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own
good, but the good of others. (NIV)
It’s true: in Christ, I have the right to do anything.
That’s a pretty big statement, but it’s true.
On Thursdays I meet with a group of men who would be
considered leaders here in our local faith community. One is a Baptist. One is
a Wesleyan. Three are Pentecostals. Every once in a while a Presbyterian shows
up. And we talk theology. We talk common practice and we challenge each other
over this very thing: “I have the right
to do anything”, but not everything is beneficial.
There are those in the group who espouse: people need to be reminded of their sin, so
they’ll stop sinning. There are those in the group who say: people need to embrace the magnitude of God’s
love so they’ll be overwhelmed by it and give up everything to possess it.
But the argument is usually this: Are
there limits to what I can and can’t do in Christ?
Some would argue, emphatically: YES!! And the subsequent
thought being: if you are free to do
anything, you will. Others would argue, yes,
you are free in Christ to do anything, but why would you? And Paul sums it
up nicely: No one should seek their own
good, but the good of others. It seems if there is anything to avoid in the
life of the believer, it’s don’t do anything for your own good but always do
what is good for others.
And there, right there: it becomes a matter of the heart:
does what I do help or harm others? It’s not a matter of offending God, but a
matter of helping or hurting others.
In our lives, it appears the Bible teaches we’re to keep
our ‘self’ on a very short leash. The shorter the better. Our propensity toward
untoward behavior is probably rooted in this: our self-life is either: A. out
of control; or B. undisciplined, ignorant, immature, and out of control. So, if
we are indeed free to do anything and
do so with disregard for others we are not free in Christ, but bound in self.
And a poor witness to, or reflection of, the unconditional love of God.
We are free but there is a boundary: love, and
consideration of what my actions do to another. Any other. Are they helpful or
hurtful? Yes, I can disregard the boundary but that simply reveals my lack of
understanding of true and godly love.
My freedom in Christ is really my abiding in love. And my
abiding in love shows me just how important Jesus is to me. I am free to love.
It’s true. The greatest calling on my life is to help others by loving truly God
and loving truly them. In that, it’s true: I have the right to do anything…
Father God, help me to do just that – Amen.
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