Good Morning Friends,
“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 carried many
rights. 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.
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
those distinctions carry a great many rights and privileges. Those rights and privileges
are important to us. As Americans, we can use our rights 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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