Orderly

1 Corinthians 14:40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

We all know people who are like Pigpen of Peanuts fame. Everywhere they go they seem to stir things up, make things messy, disrupt the flow. Their very presence seems to put the rest of us out of focus. We loose track of our purpose in the midst of the chaos.

I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. They aren’t usually doing this on purpose. Life has programmed them to be the way they are. They are reacting to their past experiences in ways that helped them in the past, but those same ways don’t work in the present. They are caught in the cycle just as much as we are caught in their cycle.

Unfortunately, the Church is not immune to this kind of cycle. One of the spins that happens is those who seem to desire to be the center of attention. They are not thinking about the body, but are instead focused on themselves. They draw the limelight like a moth is drawn to the light. But this kind of selfish focus is fatal.

The Church is about pointing to the greatness of the LORD, about what He has done in history, about His holiness. Any time we become the focus we away from the goal of the Church. We need to decrease, as John the Baptist said.

I remember going to a church in San Antonio, TX. What I found interesting is that after attending for several weeks, I still didn’t know the name of the Pastor. He just wasn’t important. He kept pointing to Jesus! That is what I heard repeatedly. And I think that is where our focus must remain.

The Corinthian church had a particular problem, among many. They had people who allowed their personal spiritual journey, their personal worship expressions take precedence over what was best for the whole body. Their expressions overshadowed everyone else’s expressions.

And what is worse, they expressions didn’t build up the body. It only built them up. So Paul tries to set them straight. He wants some order to their gatherings. Order is necessary for good discipleship. We need order so that people can be nurtured and encouraged.

I think the key is to keep our focus on Jesus. Lift Him up. Get all eyes to see Him and His work on our behalf. We should know and proclaim “Christ and Him crucified.”