Pray:

Lord, You are the God who turns all things for the good of those who are Yours. Thank You.

Read:

1 CORINTHIANS 10:14-22

Reflect:

What do the pursuits of your life reveal as your priority?

In today's passage, Paul specifies the way out of the temptation to partake in pagan feasts. He tells the Corinthians to flee (14).

Paul explains why the Corinthians' conduct is sinful. What do the Christian Eucharist, Jewish sacrificial feasts, and pagan temple feasts have in common? All of them form bonds between their participants, as well as between their participants and the god worshiped through the meal. Paul agrees with the Corinthians that the gods of pagan temples are not deities. But he argues that idol worship is demonic, for it severs the believer from God (20,21). Believers cannot be united with God and, at the same time, embrace something that dishonors God.

It would be easy to criticize the Corinthians for compromising their faith. But, as Jesus says, we first need to take the plank out of our own eye (Matt. 7:3-5). Money, entertainment, sex, and power--to name but a few--all serve as idols in the Western world. They ignite worldly desires and distract us from the pursuit of knowing God.

Apply:

Confess to God those things that are distracting you from the priority of his kingdom.

Pray:

Precious Father, thank You that You are ever calling us out of death into all that brings life.