We all possess knowledge. But knowledge puffs up while love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1 – New International Version).
The Bible warns us that knowledge alone makes us feel larger. We might look big, but we are just full of air. However, knowledge coupled with love makes those we interact with strong. In 1 Corinthians 8, the Apostle Paul cautioned the Corinthian believers that without love, their knowledge would be turned from an instrument of construction to one of destruction (1 Corinthians 8:12). Their degree of spiritual knowledge that made their lives easier carried no guarantee it would work for everyone else. Paul wanted them to be mindful that every Christian was different. They may all have had the same Savior, but they came from different backgrounds and possessed varying degrees of spiritual maturity. What worked for one could not be guaranteed to work for all, but they would never see this if love were absent from their interactions with others. Love had the unique ability to move them beyond their own interests to include the betterment of others.
As with the Corinthians, so are we as Christians today. Our knowledge is most effective when it is guided by love for others. When our only concern is what we believe is right, our beliefs and positions become the priorities, and people are secondary. We end up idolizing our ideologies and dismissing anyone who thinks otherwise. There is no room for understanding and compassion, only a combative posture and a determination to prove that what we believe makes us better. There is nothing admirable about narrow-mindedness, about using knowledge to cultivate a self-righteous, arrogant, or disrespectful attitude.
The admonition of Jesus that we should “do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31) followed His teaching on the sacrifices that were necessary to show love to one’s enemies (Luke 6:27-30). However, a point often missed in that command is that Christ was turning the tables on His disciples. He was asking His followers to put themselves in the place of the enemy. If they were someone else’s enemy, how would they want to be treated? This willingness to identify with those who approach life from perspectives and positions contrary to our own becomes the necessary starting point to deal with the danger of being right.
END OF PART FOUR
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