“Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals. We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.” 1 Corinthians 4:8-13

School Shooting Number 7:

“A Winston-Salem State University football player died after being shot at an event at Wake Forest University early Saturday morning.

Najee Ali Baker, 21, was taken to a hospital and died, according to a Winston-Salem police press release. Police were called to The Barn, an event venue on the school’s campus in the 1800 block of Wake Forest Drive, at about 1 a.m. after a gunshot was fired. Police said the victim was shot following an argument. It happened at an event hosted by the Pi Omicron chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., a Wake Forest University student organization. Winston-Salem police do not believe the shooter remained on campus. (Winston-Salem State University football player dies…, myfox8.com, Michael Polarchy) 

Paul’s words carry a lot of wisdom – words that need to be lifted up. He may have been writing for the people in Corinth, or Rome, but they stand fast for everyone in our country today. In particular, Paul writes about standing fast as people of Grace and not people of violence. I believe we have become a thin-skinned, easily offended people. And when someone offends us, we often strike out against the offender with violence. We see it time and time again. A driver is cut-off by another driver, so they take out a baseball bat and begin to smash the car of the person who cut them off. Someone looks at a man’s girlfriend the wrong way, they take out a knife and threaten the perpetrator. It was President Theodore Roosevelt who quipped “speak softly, and carry a big stick” – but Paul said “speak softly and carry no stick”.

“To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly.”   

In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul spends a lot of time talking about sin – and how we do the things that we do not want to do – because sin dwells within us. Paul writes: “For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:18-20)

My guess is that after we lash out at someone in anger, usually we regret the words and the deeds that our sinful selves have spouted. I know our society wants us to “be strong”, to “not back down”, and to “stand up for ourselves”. I just believe we can accomplish these by blessing others instead of cursing at them; and speaking kindly instead of swinging a baseball bat. If we believe it is the sin that dwells within us that causes us to lash out, perhaps we can find some grace within us to take a moment, discern our best action, and pray for the Spirit to lead us toward peace.

Pastor Dave