WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
The Corinthian Attitude Problem
The congregation in the city of Corinth seemed to have an attitude problem. It’s interesting what you can conclude about a group of believers from the letter written to them by the apostle Paul, not only because of what he says but also because of how he says it. And judging from the 1st letter that Paul sent to this congregation on the western side of the Aegean Sea: the Corinthians had an attitude problem! They had turned the Lord’s Supper into a potluck feast, a meal in which they ignored the poor who couldn’t bring anything while those who could got drunk. Some of them were taking their own fellow brothers and sisters to court. The worship services themselves were in disarray and chaos because everyone wanted to speak at once and show off their spiritual gifts. The entire congregation seemed to be abusing their Christian freedom, using it as a license to do whatever they wanted. They allowed one of their own to live in an adulterous relationship - as if they were being tolerant and open-minded. There were cliques and factions among the members because of which pastor they liked better: Peter or Apollos or Paul - and because of that there was jealousy and quarreling among them as to who was better. There was not a whole lot of love within this congregation - and so Paul wrote that famous chapter 13 on the spiritual gift of love. There was not much Christian wisdom in this congregation - and so Paul wrote chapters 1 and 2 on wisdom from the Spirit. There was not a whole lot of camaraderie or cooperation between the members - and so Paul wrote chapter 12 about the many parts that were to work together for the good of the one body of Christ.
Turning Their Backs on the Apostles
Reading about all of these problems that Paul has to deal with in this letter, it is obvious that there must have been a lot of selfish attitudes in that congregation and a lot of contentious personalities that butted heads and wouldn’t back down. But we haven’t even talked about the most troubling thing that was happening among those people in and around 55 AD: they were apparently bad-mouthing the apostles themselves. In response to this attack Paul writes, “So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes… Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is written.’ Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings - and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings to that we might be kings with you!”
Paul is being a little sarcastic here; and he seems to be a little frustrated with their attitude because they were acting as if the apostles weren’t important at all, that the efforts of Paul and his coworkers were overrated, that the Corinthians could get along just fine without them. Paul even says that he is writing a “warning” to the Corinthians because some of them were apparently becoming “arrogant” - doing whatever they felt like doing because they didn’t think Paul would really ever come back and check in on them. This matter was so serious that Paul picks up this topic again in chapter nine and says that “This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me” (9:3). This struggling congregation was bucking at the leadership and authority of the apostles themselves! We could even say that they were in danger of possibly breaking away from the Christian Church at large and becoming an “independent” congregation, separated from the apostles whom the Lord had chosen to spread his kingdom to the far reaches of the earth.
Our “Conditional” Concern for Others
I don’t know how Paul kept his cool! I don’t know how he composed himself to write what he did in the way that he did it! He is certainly harsh at times with these Corinthians, but never cruel. He is pointed and specific about their sins throughout this letter, but never in a vindictive way or with a revengeful tone. Even when these so-called Christians were attacking him personally, questioning the validity of his authority, criticizing his true motives, Paul was patient with them; correcting them in love; encouraging them with the gospel. It’s striking how much concern Paul had for these people who were turning their backs on the one through whom the Lord used to bring them to faith.
I don’t think I would have been that nice. If the congregation I had founded, the group of Christians I had stayed with for entire year and half - putting my missionary journey on hold for them, the place in which I had put my life on the line because of the Jews in town who hated me and what I stood for… if that congregation had turned its back on me and even questioned whether I was a legitimate apostle or not, I might have just walked away! “You don’t want my help? Fine! I’m not going to give it to you. You don’t think I had noble intentions while I was with you? Fine! Have it your way; I won’t come back. You don’t love one another or respect the gospel or consider God’s called workers to be a benefit to you after all that time we were with you? Fine! Then you’re going to learn the hard way.” I don’t think I would have been all that patient. I think I would have been angry. I think I would have been tempted to stop caring about that congregation at all.
Because that’s the way we work sometimes, isn’t it? Our care for others is conditional. And what I mean by that is: we will care for others on the condition that they also care for us. We will show concern for others on the condition that they show concern for us. We will love others up to a point but certainly not any more than they love us. We want our affection to be mutual; we want a little give and take. We don’t want to be the only one sacrificing in a relationship and getting nothing in return. And so when someone is actually mean to us, when someone doesn’t even like us or try to be nice to us at all, well, then we certainly aren’t going to care about them, are we? We’re definitely not going to concern ourselves about those kinds of people because they don’t deserve it. They don’t even want it. And so why should we care? Why should we bother? If they aren’t going to appreciate what we do and who we are then so be it. We’ll leave them alone and not feel bad about it in the least.
Paul’s Genuine Concern for Their Faith
Paul didn’t leave the Corinthians alone. Paul did not just throw up his hands in frustration and walk away. Because that’s not what a Christian does. A Christian doesn’t leave; a Christian doesn’t hold a grudge; a Christian does not treat others like they deserve. Christians care. And Paul obviously cared for that temperamental congregation in Corinth. He expressed his concern for them. He wrote to them an extensive letter covering everything they asked about and more. He was bold enough to correct them. He was loving enough to show them compassion. And he reminded them about everything he and the other apostles had gone through on their behalf: “It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena... To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.” Paul cared. He truly cared. And he had put up with anything and everything to bring the gospel to these people, even when he was challenged and insulted by the very people he cared about.
Why did Paul care so much? Why was he so concerned about this congregation in Corinth and so willing to sacrifice his time and efforts and even his own life to provide for them? Was it because he was such a nice guy? Was it maybe because he owed them something? Was it because he felt responsible for them and considered it his duty to make sure they were OK? No, it’s deeper than that. It’s more powerful than that. Paul showed this kind of unconditional care for the Corinthians because of the unconditional care Christ had once shown to him.
Christ’s Unconditional Care for Paul
Do you remember who Paul once was? He once was Saul, a tormentor of Christians, an accessory to the murder of Stephen, a man who made it his personal goal to hunt down and arrest and imprison all those who believed in Christ. A man who was once on his way to the city of Damascus to do that very thing. Paul was the number one enemy of the Christian Church until Christ himself stopped him on that road. Christ physically appeared to him; Christ miraculously changed his heart; Christ commissioned him to be an apostle; and Christ sent him out into the world to spread the news. Up until that point Paul hated Jesus; after that event Paul loved Jesus more than his own life. Up until that point Paul refused to believe in Jesus; afterward he refused to stop talking about him. Up until that point Paul did not care about those who knew Jesus as their Savior; afterwards he cared enough for those who did not know Jesus as their Savior that he was willing to suffer just to tell them about it. Paul’s unconditional care for the lost in this world and his unconditional care for the Corinthians stemmed directly from Christ’s unconditional care for him.
Paul never forgot that fact. He calls himself “the least of the apostles” because of who he had once been. He calls himself “the worst of sinners” on account of his past. He admits that he does “not even deserve to be called an apostle” because he persecuted the Church of God. And yet Christ cared for him. Cared so much for him, in fact, that no matter how bad Paul had been, no matter how many Christians he had hunted down in his life, no matter how many murders he had watched take place, Christ still forgave him. Christ’s innocent blood still counted for his sins regardless of how much innocent blood Paul himself had spilled. Paul was indebted to Christ. Paul owed Christ his life. That never left his mind. And what better way to thank his Savior than to show that same kind of unconditional care for those who needed it?
Christ’s Unconditional for Us
We are no less indebted to Christ than Paul was. No matter how bad we are, no matter how unloving, no matter how unconcerned, no matter how many ways we neglect to show care to those around us, Christ still forgives us. Christ’s blood still counts. Christ’s sacrifice still stands. He still speaks to us in his Word even when we really don’t feel like listening to him. He still concerns himself with everything we need even when we really aren’t concerned with what he wants. He still cares for us in every way even at those times when we don’t care a whole lot about anyone but ourselves. It’s an unconditional care. It’s not based on how much we love him back or how hard we try for him or what we can do for him. Christ’s care isn’t really based on anything other than his love. And that, he promises, will never change.
Care for the “Corinthians”
And so why should we care? Why should we bother with those who don’t like us and don’t respect us and don’t even try to be nice to us? Because Christ cares about you. And Christ cares about them. And although they may very well be “Corinthians” in a sense: arrogant, stubborn, unloving, and unwilling to change; so are we. So are we. And if Christ still cares for us even though we are “Corinthians,” how could we not care for those who fall into that exact same category? Make a special effort to reach out to those who pull back from you. Go out of your way to help those who would never think about lending you a hand. Care for those who don’t care about you. Paul did. Christ certainly did. And there are millions of people in this world who still don’t know that.
Amen.
“May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” - 2 Cor. 13:14
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