17 November 2023
It's not a question of having divine prerogatives; it's the use of them.
The middle chapters of 1 Corinthians manifests Paul's attempt to teach the Corinthian church about the "coin of the realm" in the Kingdom of Heaven: sacrifice. It's not what you have, but how you use it. Over those chapters, Paul emphasizes different ways to explain how surrendering your divine prerogatives is the proper way to use them.
Yes, we can eat anything that appeals to us, but for the sake of our gospel message, we should refrain in some circumstances. Yes, we have access to a host of spiritual gifts, but the one thing we should seek is to help others build and keep their commitment to Christ. It's not about what God has given you to enjoy; it's about how those things can affect your brothers and sisters. That's what chapter 13 is all about.
Oddly enough, this shows up as a core value in US military service. Given my experience, I have serious doubts it was actually absorbed by those who rose in the ranks, but I do know that it is firmly stated in the doctrinal training materials. Service members got awards for punching through their own individual limitations to excel in various measures, but the ones who truly understood the mission were the ones who worked hard to bring the whole unit through testing.
We have it in a thousand gospel songs, but we see so darned little of it in practice.
You're my brother, you're my sister
So take me by the hand
Together we will work until He comes
There's no foe that can defeat us
We're walking side by side
As long as there is love we will stand
(Russ Taff, "We Will Stand")
People just looooove the emotion attached to such songs, but they can't seem to walk very far in it. How often do we see that very sentiment promoted by those marked by ambition?
We talk about the prevalence and power of the evil spirits running rampant in our world. The elohim opposition have really made a mess of things. They could not have done it without our fallen natures being so very cooperative with their agenda. We struggle to nail Adam to the Cross because we cannot embrace the tireless necessity of nailing him up there repeatedly, ad infinitum, until the Lord Returns.
But this ability to sacrifice, while at the same time dismissing ambition is the killshot. This is the one thing Satan and his elohim allies cannot withstand. It has nothing to do with the syrupy emotional displays of human unity. It's that honest commitment to provoking that same sacrifice in others. Do you realize that this does more to change the world around you than any other thing? This is how we lead from the front. Step up to the moment in whatever it is you have in your hands.
It's not a question of being prepared to defend your God-given feudal domain. The issue is tossing that domain into the same basket that everyone else carries. We seek to meld our domains into a weapon of divine peace against the spiritual forces of darkness. Sometimes you'll need to say something, but most often it's what you say with your actions.
Make that killshot.
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