Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. | 1 Corinthians 10:32–33
On Sunday, Andrew preached on 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1. The first verse of this is the often quoted:
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Andrew summarized the build-up to this verse as the title of this post: ‘don’t be a jerk.’ As we get to v.31, we see the major motivation for this is the glory of God. This should remind us that as His people, the way that we act reflects back on how people see and experience God. We have a responsibility to ‘do all to the glory of God’ so that we do not become the means by which their view of God’s goodness and honor is thwarted.
In the next verse (v.32 above), Paul makes it clear that living this out is going to require some discernment. As we navigate this world, what is a stumbling block to one person is going to be different than another. In the same way that a small pebble does little to impede someone on foot, but is a major problem for a person on a skateboard, we need to be aware of how we are reflecting the glory of God in varying circumstances. Paul describes 3 different groups that we need to be aware of as we think through no being a jerk:
JEWS
By Jews, Paul is referring to those who consider themselves to be the people of God, but are relying on something other than Jesus to save them. It is the people who Paul loves enough to call them away from:
myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. | 1 Timothy 1:4
Since their issue is that they spend their time on speculation, their pebble is having their vain notions supported. The worst things that we can do for those who have put their hope in religious places other than Jesus is to affirm their false gods. To ‘not be a jerk’ is to lovingly call them back to the Savior; showing them the goodness of God and why Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
GREEKS
The second group that Paul mentions are the Greeks: those who do not believe in God at all. The issue for them is that when they look at the reflection of God: His creation, His grace, and His people, they see them demystified. The whole world is dead and nothing more than what you see.
The worst thing that we can do for those who live a Godless existence is justify their presuppositions by living just like the world around us. If God’s people are no different than anyone else, than it proves their point: there is no power in the Spirit. To ‘not be a jerk’ is to passionately pursue obedience to God’s way, living out the hope that is within you:
in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. | 1 Peter 3:15
THE CHURCH
The final group that Paul mentions is the church: our brothers and sisters in Christ. There is a lot in the Bible about how we should live with those in the community of faith. Some of this is for the sake of being the light: a proper reflection of the God we worship. Another part of this is so that we are properly caring for those who belong to the family. We all struggle. We all have bad days. We all need support. To ‘not be a jerk’ to those in the church is to recognize their brokenness even as we work to sharpen one another in sanctification. To grow with one another, long-term, requires both push and patience; people will quit when they simply can’t bear the weight. We have been tasked with giving those in the church every reason to keep going. Paul summarizes this in Ephesians 4:
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. | Ephesians 4:15–16
To ‘not be a jerk’ is to do your best to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. It means seeing everyone as in need of Jesus and yourself as someone who is the recipient of His grace. To live for God’s glory is to allow this reality to become more important to you than what you may GET out of this life. In this, God may allow you to be the conduit of His grace, helping another come into the family of God by removing the barrier that has prevented them, OR the means by which He keeps His children in the faith. We cannot know exactly what God is doing in the heart of another person or where His Spirit may be working; what we can do is be faithful to do all to the glory of God, and not be a jerk.