2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Ezra 10:1-44 ESV, 1 Corinthians 6:1-20 ESV, Psalm 31:9-18 ESV, Proverbs 21:3 ESV
Daily Verse: “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?” (1 Corinthians 6:1 ESV)
PRAGMA (4229): “That which has been done, a deed. Akin to prasso, “to do,” denotes “business” 1 Cor. 6:1, in a forensic sense, “a lawsuit.”[i]
Forensic sense.
Paul admonishes the Corinthians for taking their grievances out in the Roman courts. Challenging them, Paul wants to know why they don’t care about God’s law. Instead, they take their troubles to people who neither know nor follow God.
Becoming more like Christ will baffle people in your life. As you move away from negative thought patterns and embrace the teachings of Jesus, your life does change. Leaving behind your sinful life changes relationships, actions, and words.
Tiffany Jenkins, an American author whose best-selling book details her battle with addiction, answered a question on social media. “Can you still drink?” Posting photos, she illustrated her previous life.
Yes and no.
In Tiffany’s response, she wrote about waking up on people’s lawns, unaware of her surroundings. Recalling her words and actions, she described a bleak life. Tiffany’s closing comments speak volumes:
“So yes, technically as a person over the age of I’m “allowed” to drink, but as a person who knows where it will lead me, I chose not to…Life is too good without it.” Tiffany Jenkins
Paul’s words to the Corinthians remind them, following Jesus changes how you deal with life. When you have grievances with others, find out what Jesus would do first. Instead of acting like the world, imitate Christ. Turn the other cheek, work on forgiving, and find ways to bring peace into the situation.
Yes, you can do whatever you want to do. But no, following our desires instead of Jesus leads us to places we don’t want to go.
[i] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 208) Thomas Nelson
