From self-confidence to In-God-confidence!

13 July 2008 Lobatse congregation.
Sermon on 1 Cor 10:1-13

Everyday we are busy measuring, and we are measured everyday. We as children always stood against the wall, and my father measured us, and wrote the date of the measure and the exact length at that date next to our lines. But this measurement does not only concern our physical length.

From childhood we are also measured in other aspects of our life. Whether it is our speech, or the age we started walking, or our intelligence, we are always compared to others. I heard a grandfather acknowledge that he is not exactly unbiased when it comes to judging his grandson’s abilities.

But this measuring of ourselves against others may soon grow to unhealthy proportions. Not only does it start with the ferocious competition at school, or even pre-school, but all our children quickly realises what fashion is, and whose car is the most expensive.

If this competition was only limited to material aspects, it would not be so destructive. But if we read the book of Corinthians carefully, this attitude of measuring yourselves against others was at the core of the unhappiness and discord in that congregation. Is it not interesting that it was slaves from Chloe’s household who notified Paul about the problems in the congregation? Does Paul not start out in Chapter 1 of his first letter to the Corinthians in addressing the competition between the different groups in Corinth, some being for Apollos, others in favour of Cephas, and others in favour of him?

You see, brothers and sisters, that it was of utmost importance for the Athenians and Greeks of that time to hear the latest Ideas (Acts 17:21), being fashionable in their behaviour and philosophy. But this attitude is particularly destructive when it becomes part of people’s Christian life. This constant competition can also infiltrate people’s attitude towards their spiritual maturity. In the Corinthians people measured their spiritual maturity in terms of keeping the Pharisaic Law, the number of spiritual gifts they received, and for others, the extend to which they were able to express their spiritual freedom by still partaking in certain dubious ceremonies and feast in honour of the idols of their time.

When we seriously look into our own lives and our own congregation in 2008, we cannot deny that this underlying competition is still pretty much evident in the modern church. Whilst some believers will find confidence in their strict keeping of the law, others will emphasize their spiritual gifts, whilst others their freedom to do whatever they want to. As in the congregation of Corinth, some will even take pride in their ability to contribute towards the congregation’s coffers.

I do not deny that we as Christians need confidence in our lives. We cannot just allow Satan to tell us everyday how unworthy and sinful and shameful we are. But this confidence should not come in the first place by comparing ourselves with others. This confidence does not come from within... No, dear friends, Paul warns us seriously against this type of confidence. He says that this type of confidence can lead us into a trap. Those who think that they are standing firm, says verse 12, must be careful not to fall… The moment we think that we are on our strongest, is often our weakest moment. The engineers who built the Titanic said that it could never sink – It sank on its first journey…

But Paul does offer an alternative… He urges us to surrender our lives to God… to measure ourselves according to His expectations of us… to trust that He will help us to succeed in a difficult world… to trust that He will keep us from falling. In verse 13 Paul promises us that God is faithful. He will lead us through temptations. He will make a way. He will preserve us for eternal life.

In the light of the above Paul urges us not to have anything to do with Idolatry. We should have no other gods. We should trust upon Jesus as our Saviour alone, to deliver us from sin and the pitfalls of this world. That would mean that we do not engage in idolatry, immorality, or testing God, or becoming bitter and resentful in our faith, as some of the Corinthians did.

Therefore we must humble ourselves to the mighty hand of God (1 Peter 5:6), and know that He will lift us up at the right time. Let us realise that God made us each for a specific purpose in his Kingdom, and stop comparing ourselves to others. Let us make sure to serve him to the best of our potential!

I couldn’t help to notice a weird bumper sticker at the back of a Nissan Navara yesterday. It says “I love potholes!” What does this person mean? Nobody really loves potholes. He actually says that his bakkie is so strong and tough that he loves showing of by racing over potholes. But I don’t think that I will ever put such a sticker on any of my cars! I have seen some pretty big potholes in Southern Africa. I will rather stick to trying to finish my PhD (Some say that this stands these days for a Pothole Dodger!).

But just like this Pothole-lover some people in life would go to extremes to prove how wonderful and confident they are. What is your claim to fame in life? To show how far you can go without being caught? Is it to show how much alcohol you can tolerate without getting drunk? Is it to show everybody that you keep the law very strictly? Or is it that you do not worry what language you use wherever you are? Or that you do not fear to even attack God when things go wrong?

Dear friends, let us really bow down today and ask the Lord that we should serve Him by being faithful to his calling for us. Let us really know that we must be confident in God everyday – It is not about us! Let us rather be Pothole Dodgers, and live wise and carefully, rather sidestepping the pitfalls that we may stumble upon.

I conclude with the story of the king who advertised a post for a coach driver. He received two applications, and he asked the applicants to take him up a steep mountain road. The one driver wanted to show of and drove as close to the cliffs as possible. The other driver drove as careful as possible, evading any possible danger. I think you know which choice the king made! May God give us grace to live in his light, and evade the potholes along the way!

AMEN.