Be Weak and Foolish

As I read through the first chapter of 1 Corinthians last night, I came to an abrupt stop once I hit verse 26. About half way through it I told myself, "I am not ready for these next couple of verses!" They were so powerful that taking a quick glance at them before I went to bed wasn't gonna cut it. So as I looked at them today, the power oozed through the spaces between the letters. There was a reason why I had underlined this entire last section of chapter one.

You have to be in the right frame of mind to read these last couple of verses. To skip over them... well, let's just not go there. Verse 26 starts off with a slap in the face: "not many of you were wise according to worldy standards..." Ok sort of humbling, but I see that sense of humility we must have. "... not many were powerful..." Yupp, still humbling. "...not many were of noble birth." Ouch. But what if I truly were wise?! Or really powerful?! Or strong?! Well, keep reading... Verses 27 and 28: "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are." Immediately I think, "I guess I don't want to be strong anymore." Why? Because of what it says in the last verse, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." I don't want to boast in anything but the Lord. Being strong and wise and noble are all great things that we should want to be, but these characteristics should be at no higher level than our unconscious thoughts.

Let me give you an example. Have you ever been asked, "Who is a hero in your life?" Many of you probably do have one whether its your mom or dad or a favorite athlete. But when I think about a hero, words like "conceited", or "cocky", or "arrogant" don't come to mind. It seems like being a hero is almost unknown to the hero itself. If the hero is making a conscious effort to be a hero, it tarnishes the image of a hero, at least in my own definition. My kind of hero is selfless, sacrificial, and unrelenting. They are unaware of their "hero status." So my point is, and the point of this passage is, don't aim to be wise, powerful, or boastful. Seek the Lord and he will use you in your weakness and foolishness to "shame the wise" and "shame the strong."

"...Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31