As If...

I think reading this particular new testament passage should give us all pause. Reading these three verses only – we just may want to rethink what it means to be a Christian. Moreover, it might make us wonder what in the world is Paul saying to us. In order to understand these verses, we must not read them apart from the context in which they were written. If we do, we will only get a perverted understanding of how we are to live. If you are joyful – don’t act as though you are joyful. If you are in mourning– act as though you are not mourning. When you buy and surround yourselves with all your possessions – live as if you didn’t have any – and if you have dealings with the world = act as if your really don’t. And finally – if you have a wife – act as though you didn’t have one. Some wives may want to take Paul to task on this one. If we read these verses out of context here is what we learn – That: we are to fake our way through this life – that nothing we do is real or genuine – that the covenant of marriage is to be disregarded. Paul must be trying to tell us something important – but what? To figure that out, we have to read this whole chapter, and we have to understand the nature of the church in Corinth, and what was going on in that church 2000 years ago, and it might be a good idea to know where Paul is coming from. Paul has devoted his entire life to Christ - breathing, eating, sleeping, waking working – all is for Christ. He is a man who regards everything he has achieved in his life – every worldly thing - as garbage/as rubbish/as nothing in comparison to a life lived solely for Christ. He is a man who lives already as one crucified, who presses on toward the one and only thing in life that he believes is important – never being distracted, never looking right or left, but living in total and complete devotion to Jesus Christ. And always -what Paul wants the church to do is to be like him, to imitate him. In this chapter Paul writes: I wish that all of you were like me….totally devoted to only one thing – Christ and spreading his message. Well, we are not like Paul – but what he wants – I think – is for us to strive as best we can – to live AS IF the world has no hold on us – to remember that we belong to Christ and Christ along, to remember that our citizenship is not earthbound, but our citizenship is in heaven. One commentary explained it rather well: Don’t let your emotional state govern, or become the entire focus of your life. Devote yourself or the better part of yourself to the Lord. Don’t completely disengage from the economic sphere of life. Just don’t let it become the center of your allegiance. Devote yourself or the better part of yourself to the Lord. Don’t be overwhelmed by the stuff in your life. Don’t let your use of stuff become the focus on your life. Don’t be a mall worshiper, a worshiper of consumerism. Instead devote yourself to the Lord. Married couples have a holy duty to one another. But as you fulfill your covenant promises, be sure that you love God above all. Don’t let your marriage become your ultimate allegiance. Devote yourself to the Lord. The commentator continues: Paul admonishes us not to be engrossed in the things of the world: We can get all tied up with the surface affairs of life, with politics and finances; with sensationalism and gossip; with sports and relationships. But know that we are here only for a little while; and know that all of it will pass away – better not to get all bogged down in the junk of the world, better to devote yourself to the Lord. Somewhere between 51 and 53 AD, Paul wrote this letter and there was a lot of stuff going on…stuff that we truly cannot ever know or imagine. But what we do know is this: The church in Corinth was divided – rich poor; rules about food, abuses of the Lord’s Supper, quarrels about who belonged to who: Paul or Apollos or Cephas. There was undercutting and allegiances all around. And on the world scene - there was strife among the leaders of the Empire, the Temple, and the fledgling church, military skirmishes were cropping up, enemies threatened Jerusalem and a way of life. A doomsday feeling prevailed – like the world was facing a great upheaval. And within half a generation the whole Roman world would be turned upside down by civil wars; the murder of three emperors – one right after another; and the destruction of Jerusalem. Paul wrote that the time was short – but the use of the Greek word time – might be better understood to mean that the members of the church in Corinth – were living in a critical, crucial, time. A time so significant that they should live AS IF Christ’s return was moments away – prompting them - to devote their living and their lives to Christ. I am thinking that – despite the difficulties in the church, despite the fear of enemies, despite the craziness of the world, and the human tendency to hang on to worldly things – the Corinthian church and the present day church have a few things in common – each one situated in a time of great opportunities and possibilities. Living as Christ lived – living as Paul lived – is more than we are capable of. Living in the midst of changing times – limping along in an attempt to keep up – hoping things don’t change so quickly that we get lost – takes a toll on us. Letting go of what we knew, looking anew at doctrine in light of science and technology. Honoring tradition without turning it into a sacred cow – is not easy. But as we have the privilege of living in a time that does offer a possible renewal of the church – a time of yes – great challenge, and also – a time of great opportunity and possibility – the question mark that stands so starkly before us is this: What would it look like if the church and her members lived AS IF. As if the church was important; as if membership meant more than one hour on Sunday morning; as if knowing and learning and living the faith was important; as if Christianity offered much to a broken world; as if being devoted to Jesus made a difference. I wonder what would it look like if the church and her members lived AS IF.