Whom Shall I Follow?

1 Corinthians 3:1-4
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly - mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it.  Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly.  For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?  Are you not acting like mere humans?  For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere human beings?

What follows is a statement I recently post on Facebook:

I made a big mistake.  I thought once the election was over, the inauguration was over, people in this country might finally come to their senses.  My bad!

So because of the continuing lack of civil dialogue, I plan to severely limit my time here except for posting my blog, updating The Glade Series. and visiting pages featuring Christian writers.  So if you don't see me around, and you've been a great friend, please don't think I've forgotten you.

I haven't forgotten you, dear friends, but I am tired.

Worn to a nub, tired.

And I am blown away by the flood of public, and private, responses I receive from so many of these treasured friends.  They are exhausted, too.  They are confused.  Over whelmed and discouraged by the vitriol spewed from those professing to be Christians.

How can this possibly happen?  How is this the way Christians are supposed to treat one another?  Or those of differing faiths, when it comes down to brass tacks?

As Paul states above, "You are still worldly."  Reacting and knee-jerking to anyone who opposes your world view, excommunicating them from your friend list because they don't share your world view?  Your self-proclaimed enlightenment?

Yes, we all have a perfect right to our opinions and visions of what this world should look like.  But we also have power over the words we choose to spew onto the social media airwaves.  So let's ask ourselves:  "Are we still quarreling?  Are we jealous?

How does this come anywhere near to fulfilling Jesus' commandment to love one another?

I'm wondering, as Paul did, "Are we not yet ready for solid food?"

"I follow Clinton!"

"I follow Trump!"

When we make such declarations, we are in and of this world, acting like mere human beings.

Shouldn't we, instead, be pronouncing with conviction, "I follow Christ!"

And mean those words with every ounce of our being?

I pray today that those angry, accusatory words once uttered will slowly, but surely, turn to peaceful prayers of love and thanksgiving to God and for this great nation He has blessed us with.

1 Corinthians 3:21-23
So then, no more boasting about human leaders.  All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world of life or death or the present or the future - all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Amen!