Thread WORD PICTURE: Thread
Scriptural Reference: 1 Corinthians 1:10-12
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas [That is, Peter]"; still another, "I follow Christ."
1. Have someone(s) read the scriptures from various translations.
2. Using a spool of thread, read this footnote from the Full Life Study Bible (NIV): “Division over leaders in the church was beginning to develop. Some church members were becoming more attached to certain ministers of the gospel than to the gospel itself. Paul condemns this attitude, reminding them that neither he nor any other person was crucified for them. This same error is present today. Some believers become more attached to a pastor or evangelist than to Christ and His Word. This disposition can cause them to betray Christian principles, and can even divide the church. We must always be careful to center our love and loyalty on God and His Words, not on any minister or person.”
3. My sharing, offered to spark sharing by others.
What I Shared
The footnote we read suggests how easy it is to move from the message to the messenger. For me, it is so easy to get my eyes off Jesus. For example:
One minute I am worshipping full blast, with wide open uninhibited praise. Next thing you know, I can’t wait to get back to that experience of worship. In a heartbeat, I have gone from worshipping God to worshipping the worship! That is idolatry!
Another example: Once I took an Outward Bound kayaking trip with my brother. Every night our group of twelve would gather around the campfire and talk, and it was always about the beautiful settings we had seen that day -- the Creation. After three nights of this, I felt grieved because we were not ever crediting the Creator for all of this. But when I shared that thought with the group, it was gingerly received. People nodded reluctantly but no one wanted to talk about it further. Was that idolatry?
The Bible says we need to be vigilant about idolatry. (I John 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols ; 1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.) I have recently applied vigilance by noticing that there is a very “fine line” -- as thin as this thread -- and that fine line makes all the difference.
I would like to invite sharing on any way YOU are in danger of crossing over a fine line. To trigger your thinking, permit me to suggest one way -- you are maybe so “into” tapes and books about the Bible that you never actually get into the real actual Bible itself. In other words, please just share any way YOU (or we) need vigilance to guard ourselves against idolatry.
All Scripture references from the New International Version of the Bible (NIV).
Copyright by Whitney McKendree Moore, January 2008