“Though I am free and belong to no man, I
make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the
Jews. To those under the law I became
like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win
those under the law. To those not having
the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s
law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the
weak. I have become all things to all
men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel,
that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
Paul was a Roman citizen and that distinction
carried many rights with it. Those
rights were important to Paul and he took advantage of them. At Philippi, Paul used his citizenship to
force the officials to treat him better. (see Acts 16:37-39)
But Paul’s rights were not the most important
thing in his life. Sharing the gospel
with those who did not know Christ was more important than his rights. He willingly gave up his rights, his
freedoms, and his desires in order to be able to share the gospel more
effectively with the people around him.
We’re American citizens and we’re
Christians. Both of those distinctions
carry a great many rights and privileges.
Those rights and privileges are important to us. As Americans, we can throw our rights around
and use them to our advantage. As
Christians we have freedom from the restrictions of the law and from many of
the taboos that other religions have.
But those rights and freedoms must not be the
most important things in our lives. The
people around us should matter more to us than our rights and freedoms. We should be willing to lay aside our rights
and limit our freedoms in order to help the people around us -- especially to
be more effective in sharing the gospel with them.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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