Mensa Otabil - Let's Not Be Childish
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Welcome to a brand new week. First Corinthians chapter 3, verse 1: «And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.» The Apostle Paul described the Christians in Corinth as babes or childish believers. Although he wanted to tell them very important things, he couldn’t because they were babies in Christ; they were immature. Now, Jesus Christ commanded us to be childlike in our trust in God, childlike in faith, but He never wants us to be childish in understanding and behavior. Childishness is not an asset for mature people.
So why did the Apostle Paul call these Christians childish or babes in Christ? Three reasons can be found throughout his writings to the Corinthians. First, they were show-offs and attention seekers. These people always wanted to be the center of attraction or the center of attention. It is good for us to publicize what we are doing, but when we want everything to be focused on us -so much so that we want to take the light and shine away from other people-then that is behaving like children. Children are major attention seekers; they can seek so much attention that even when it’s not their birthday, they feel unhappy if someone else is having a good day or wearing a nice dress. They cry because they are not the ones wearing it, as they always want good things to happen to them alone. If this is our behavior as adults, then we are being childish; we are becoming show-offs.
Sometimes, these days on social media, you find people seeking so much attention that they over-project themselves, which shows their childishness. When God wants to do great things for you, you have to stop being a child, especially when you’re an adult.
Secondly, the Corinthian church was sectarian. Instead of trusting in God and Christ, they put their faith in other people. One would say, «I belong to Paul,» while others would say, «I belong to Apollos,» and so on. They were very sectarian people; they derived their attention from the people they associated with. If they lived in our time today, we would see that they are people whose value is derived from the brand they identify with. Because of that, they are constantly doing things, wearing expensive items, showing off, and saying, «I belong to this,» and «I belong to that.» They never really focus on their true value. God wants us to grow up; we cannot be sectarian people. Even if we belong to a certain place, we must appreciate other groups, and even if we do not belong to that group, we can still see the good in it. We cannot be sectarian-that is childish.
The third sign is that they had so many squabbles, constantly fighting. There was so much infighting that they dissipated the strength of the church. When you read the writings, especially in First Corinthians and also in Second Corinthians, you see a church that is squabbling all the time-a church of show-offs, very sectarian. Paul called it childishness, and I hope that as we grow in life, we will put away all childish behavior and behave as adults before God.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, help me to outgrow my fears and insecurities. I desire to mature in my walk with You. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.