1 Corinthians 1:26-31 [Epiphany 4—CWS A]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
February 2, 2020
In the name of our Savior Jesus, dear friends, We live a self-obsessed society, don’t we? It seems that it is all about me…and my rights…and my needs…and my wants. Many of us take selfies and post them on social media, and some would point to that as an obsession with self. It doesn’t always have to be total self-obsession, but it certainly can be. Whole groups or cultures can be self-absorbed too. There’s a popular book out right now, in fact, it’s the latest to land on Oprah’s book club. It’s called “American Dirt.” It’s a fictional story of about Mexican immigrants fleeing dangers in their own country and seeking safety in the United States. The problem is not necessarily the details of this made-up story—although in the eyes of some it may be—but it’s the person who wrote it. Jeanine Cummins is white. So…she is being attacked by literary critics and others in the Hispanic community because they say it is not her story to tell. They say that she has no business writing about a culture that is not her own. This seems rather selfish of those within the culture. It would be a mistake to think that the Mexican or Mexican-American communities have cornered the market on this selffocused attitude. It seems that every person and every group of people wants to be understood and wants to tell their story and demand their rights. It’s ethnic groups and the poor and the wealthy and the LGBT community. Why even Christians can become self-focused about the disrespect shown to them by our society—as if Jesus didn’t say this would be the case! I guess what I’m getting at is that every single one of us sitting here today—and every other person out there in the world—has a self-centeredness problem. It’s the sinful side of us that brings this problem about. This morning, God’s Word forces us to think about our own attitudes and behaviors. What’s the object or your attention, your time, your love…or your life? What is it that matters to you? Does everything revolve around what you want and what you like and what you’re interested in? Are you the central thing? Are you the focus? What about when it comes to you and God? IS IT ALL ABOUT YOU? 1. WHAT YOU WERE AND WERE NOT The only way to answer that question is to talk about us for a bit today. That’s what Paul did with the Corinthians. He told them to take a good look at themselves. He wanted them to consider what kind of people they were when God called them to faith. So I’d like you to consider that as well—just as I had to do while preparing to preach on this lesson. What’s your story? Are you a lifelong Christian? If so, you weren’t much of anything at all when God called you. If you were brought into the family of God at your baptism as a baby, that was a time when you couldn’t feed yourself or keep your diaper clean, much less be impressive in God’s eyes! No, if you were a drooling baby when the Holy Spirit came to you and you are a lifelong Christian, you weren’t much at all when you were called to faith.