Saving the Spirit
All it takes is a little malice to corrupt the whole body.
Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. - 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
In Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, he is concerned about the spirit of the church. He has heard that someone among them is living with his father's wife and the congregation has done nothing about it.
And it is not just the actions of the one he worries about, but the arrogance of the entire community in allowing this to go on. One person's arrogance can spread to the entire community, causing all to become tainted and corrupt.
It is not the sin that is the issue, but the failure to repent and change one's ways. That is where the arrogance comes in.
We save our spirit when we choose to turn away from evil and malice.
So how does this apply to us today? Are we accepting bad influences to live among us without doing something to remove them, or are we being welcoming and accepting of all types of behavior?
There is a lot of talk these days about red flags or warning signs. Should we be calling people out when we are concerned about their behavior or not?
Paul says yes, and goes farther, saying they should be removed from the community to prevent corruption of others.
How will that approach work? Will we start accusing each other of evil just to weed out those we don't like?
It all depends on where our hearts are in this. If we truly love one another, we seek the path of compassion and help, while doing all we can to protect the greater community.
It's a potentially slippery slope, but there is a cost in doing nothing. Paul says do something and save the spirit.
More to come...