Pause for thought

Some people at Corinth did not like Paul. They were infuriated by his insistence on Christian morality and his daring to correct those whose lives proved to be a contradiction to their profession. The man who seemed to be the ringleader was the same man reprimanded in 1 Corinthians 5 (1-5). He led an open revolt against Paul and took some of the leaders with him. Because of Paul's second letter the church came back into line. But in the process, Paul was grievously wronged, both by this man and others in the church. But because of his strong Christian witness even under fire, he has provided us with the basic truths that we can apply to our own lives when we have been wronged. Firstly... any time we are wronged we can learn a lesson from the experience and emerge stronger and wiser. We may not be able to control what others do, but we can control how we respond to the wrong done. There is both a human and a divine side to this victory. If we do our part, God will be faithful to do his part. What about human endurance? An old mule, thought to be of no further use, was put in a deep ditch, and shovel after shovel of dirt was thrown down to bury him. The old mule refused to be buried. He would shake the dirt off his back, pack it down with his feet, and gradually stand higher and higher until, after enough dirt had been thrown on him, he simply stepped out of the ditch and galloped away! Secondly... any time we are wronged we must realise that the real injury is not the wrong itself but the attitude it invokes. Seldom does being wronged cripple us but we can cripple ourselves by our attitude toward those who have wronged us. The Apostle Paul portrays the kind of attitude we must display whenever we suffer an injustice. We just need to tell the truth; we are to be open. To summarise: We cannot allow the criticisms and ill will of others to distract us from our calling - we have ministries to fulfil.

THIS WEEK'S THOUGHT: Happiness belongs to those who think of others.