A Word from 1 Corinthians 14

When you think about your spiritual life, what are the areas in which you’d most like to grow?

Well obviously, our spiritual lives have many elements. And I’d imagine that most of us would like to grow in all of them! But in today’s word from 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul offers a little insight that helps us remember what matters most.

Paul was writing to a church where people were excited about their spiritual lives. But unfortunately, some folks were most excited about how their spiritual experiences could encourage themselves, rather than encouraging others and helping everyone to grow. And so, having just reminded the Corinthians that love was the most important gift of all, Paul went on to say this:

“Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does! Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. But most of all, try to proclaim His truth. If you praise Him in the private language of tongues, God understands you – but no one else does, for you’re sharing intimacies just between you and Him. But when you proclaim His truth in everyday speech, you’re letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience His presence with you.” (14:1-3, The Message)

Of course, some might hear that and say, “But I don’t speak in tongues; so this doesn’t apply to me.” But if you stop and think about it, there are all kinds of spiritual practices that we can and should engage in—things like Bible study, and prayer, and journaling, and so on. But if our goal is to nurture only ourselves, then we’re missing out on the opportunity for our spiritual life to become a channel through which God can bless others.

And maybe that’s why Paul summarizes his thinking by saying this: “Since you’re so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?” (14:12, The Message).

So today, I hope that you will invest in your spiritual life. And may all the fruit that your efforts bear nourish you and others for the sake of God’s glory. Amen.