Thoughts for the Day

* St Paul

I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, brothers and sisters, so that you may learn through us the meaning of the saying, ‘Nothing beyond what is written’, so that none of you will be puffed up in favour of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The problem in Corinth that Paul is trying to address is pride. Each of the different cliques around the apostles that leads the members to say "I support Paul!" or "I support Apollos!" is causing friction in the church. Paul asks them to stick to what they have learnt. They have all been taught the same message, and if there are differences between people it is because of what God has done in them, so there is no reason for pride. Everything had come to them as a gift from God, so why were they so full of pride in what they had achieved? The Corinthians and ourselves should live in a spirit of humble gratitude to God.

This story might help to describe the two wrong uses of pride:

'There was once a little lamp in the King's throne room, who felt he shone so brightly that he stood out, so he tried to hide away. His friend asked him what he was doing, and he told him it might be better if he blended in a little more. But the other lamp pointed out that he was lamp and was supposed to be different from the darkness. He was supposed to shine brightly.

A few weeks later the little lamp had the opposite problem, now he wanted everyone to notice him, and he liked it when others noticed him. His friend asked him what he was doing, being lit up all the time and getting bigger and brighter every day. This confused the little lamp who thought that was what he had to do, until his friend told him that he was supposed to shine brightly so that people could see the King on his throne. The lamp's job was to not to allow people to see him, but the King. Over the following weeks he shone his light towards the throne and discovered that this allowed others to see the King too.' (based on a story by Kate Hannon).

Heavenly Father,
when we are full of pride at our achievements,
or when we try to hide ourselves away,
may we remember that all our gifts and talents
come freely from You.
Help us never to forget that we should
be eternally grateful for all You give to us,
and that we should learn to share our gratitude
with those around us.
Amen.