Do you ever feel like skipping something (a tense meeting, an exam, a chore)? If I could skip doing the dishes, I would do it every time. Whoever came up with the name “Skip the Dishes” for online food delivery was brilliant!
In our Life Group, when we have a meal together, we have a Life Group member who loves to serve the group by doing the dishes. Near the end of the meal, he quietly slips away and starts washing dishes. I am so thankful for him. Every Life Group needs someone like him!
But, you know, sometimes, it’s precisely when you do what you would rather not do, when you wash dishes, that you have an opportunity to grow, have crucial conversations, and gain new insights. Sometimes, facing what we would rather avoid, leads to a whole new understanding.
If we weren’t going through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians passage by passage, we might be tempted to skip today’s passage. It is one of the most controversial biblical texts in our day, yet it contains eternal truths we avoid to our own peril. It’s quite possible that some of us will go home unhappy today, but we may also be gifted with some interesting conversations.