Knowledge Alone is Worthless

I've been spending the last few weeks taking a slow, daily walk through I Corinthians from the Bible.  For those unfamiliar with the movement of following Jesus, this is actually a letter written by a first century leader called Paul to the Jesus-followers in a port city of the Roman Empire known as Corinth; located in the Greek Isles.  In what we know as chapter 8 of that letter Paul addresses a particular concern among followers of Jesus there.  Corinth had a multiplicity of religious practices in its population, and many faith systems followed ritual practices of sacrificing animals to their gods.  Partly as a means of providing an inexpensive food source for poor people, cast off meat from these sacrifices often went on the open market.  Eating meat sacrificed to false gods was abhorrent to people of the Hebrew faith, the parent faith group to the Jesus movement.  However, as the movement grew, many people came to it who were not from Hebrew roots, and knew nothing of these restrictions.  Both groups were represented in the Corinthian gathering of believers, and the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols became one of many bones of contention among the followers there.

As I read this, it seems that both sides of this debate assumed that they had the right knowledge, and that the right knowledge was enough.  One might say, "I know that eating food sacrificed to idols is and always has been against the commandments of God, and everybody should know this."  Another could say, "I know that idols mean nothing, so the sacrifice to them means nothing.  Therefore it's fine to eat such meat; this should make sense to everyone."  So Paul starts right off saying, "...We know that all possess knowledge.  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up..."  (I Corinthians 8:1 - New International Version of the Bible)   I like it even better the way the Contemporary English Bible translates it:  "Knowledge makes people arrogant, but love builds people up."  Paul goes on to express that the issue isn't knowing what's legal or what's permissible.  The issue is what most helps another people experience the sacrificing, life-changing love of Jesus the Christ.  Just knowing something, then cavalierly expecting others to know it as well isn't helpful; it's arrogance.  Not only does this fail to help a person meet Jesus; it actually works against this happening.

I'm afraid we who follow Jesus, starting with the person at this keyboard, are too often guilty of beating the drum of what we know to be true, and expecting everyone else to pony up to that truth automatically, without getting out amongst folks (as Jesus did, BTW) and helping them to understand why certain truths matter.  More importantly, we need to help them see how the truths reflect the living presence of One who is infinite, saving love for them.  As researcher David Kinnemon reminds us, the general North American populace know more about that which Christians are against that what we are for.  In addition, the unreached population feels the haughtiness of Christians who make great pronouncements of what they know, presuming that everyone outside the walls of churches should automatically know these things as well.  This applies to all points on the Christian theological spectrum, from demanding 10 Commandment postings on courthouse walls and prayer in public schools, to condemning people who buy clothing cheaply made in substandard environments in Bangladesh.  Arrogance knows no politics, according to Paul.   And, as he bluntly puts it, knowledge without the love of Jesus is arrogance.

For example, I believe the biblical witness is fairly clear about human sexuality: intimacy is a gift of God for the bonded covenant of a marriage.  By inference and by direct word, any other use of this gift damages something sacred.  However, I live in a world in which presumptions about sexuality are all over the map.  Just as the majority of people in North America are practicing followers of Jesus, so the vast majority have no working familiarity with human relationship standards borne out of a relationship with a covenant God.  If I simply go about barking out pronouncements in Jesus name about same-gender sexual relationships, sexual practices outside of marriage, sexuality before marriage, adulterous relationships, etc. etc., without first showing and speaking of the love of Jesus and how and why He changes everything about how we live and treat others, then I am a stumbling block.   (See Matthew 18:7 in the Bible for a stinging indictment on this.)   I have acted on knowledge alone, without love.

Just my thoughts on this Tuesday...I'll see you around the next bend in the river.