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Corinthian Fools

          Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (I Corinthians 3:18-20) 

            Corinth was a New York City of the first century, or perhaps a Los Angeles. At least, they liked to think they were a cultural center. Paul had spent time there from 50-52 AD and started a church. From there, he eventually got to Ephesus. He spent from 53 to 56 AD in Ephesus, and apparently it was during that time that he heard about problems in Corinth. That means it took from perhaps one month to four years for the problems to develop. In other words, trouble started almost immediately. 
            Trouble? Yes. The Corinthian church started collecting teachers. Even when the teachers didn't disagree, the Corinthians did. They also looked around at their family, neighbors, friends and fellow Corinthians and got more ideas. Oh yes, they got tangled up in a web of so-called wisdom. Sound familiar? 
            Whenever the Church moves in the direction of the world, bad things happen. The Crusades and European "colonialism" are great examples. Sending in the army and taking over was and is the way the world does things. It's not Scriptural. Whenever the Church moves in the direction of Scripture, good things happen. Slavery and abortion comes to an end, societies are built up, the poor are cared for, kids are educated, families are made stronger....  The solution for the so-called hypocrisy of the Church is not to make our standards more like the world's, but to conform more closely to what the Bible teaches.
         That takes becoming a "fool" in the eyes of the world. Our various "Corinths" will look down on us. It takes hard work. It takes love, submission, obedience, faith and focus. It takes rejecting what Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Washington, DC say, and making "This is what the Lord say" the foundation and frame of our lives.

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