KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP WHILE LOVE BUILDS UP
Some in the church of Corinth had come to a logical conclusion based on knowledge of truth. It went like this:
Paul is addressing this issue in the church. He is going to tell them a different syllogism:
Before he launches into the whole logical and spiritual mess, Paul starts with the stronger brother’s conclusion: “We all possess knowledge.” And then Paul says, “But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.”
I was well into adulthood when this verse smacked me in the face. Was this always in the Bible, or had they just inserted it onto page 262 of my New Testament? To be sure, knowledge puffs up. But I had been pursuing knowledge my whole life! I wanted to know the Scriptures. I had spent years pursuing education and credentials, and (now that I think about it) I was proud of my accomplishments. Knowledge had—dare I see it?—puffed me up!
That’s when it hit me between the eyes: I’m not even in Kindergarten when it comes to knowing about LOVE! It’s like I had been competing to win a race, only to find out that I was running in the wrong direction! Whatever knowledge I was dedicating myself to acquire only led me farther away from what God was calling me to do. Why wasn’t this the first lesson they taught me in seminary? Or in Sunday school, for that matter?
But it was true. For a deeply competitive individual, being knowledgeable only generates a perfect know-it-all. It takes genuine love to generate a true disciple. And how does a deeply competitive individual “win” at the contest of loving better than anyone else?
In the case of these Corinthians who held the true-but-insensitive position about meat sacrificed to idols, it led them to the relational opposite of where they needed to be. Relationships are what it’s all about. Not degrees. Not study. Even the knowledge of relationships themselves ends up leading to a puffed up head. Oh, who will deliver me from such a bondage to self?
Jesus. Follow Jesus. Just imitate what you see. Learn to love, and you will learn to build up those around you. Because love builds up, don’t you know? How do you win in a contest of love? Only really bad tennis players earn a score like that!
But I’m thinking, if I can really excel at knowing how to build others up, maybe I’ll win the annual MOST HUMBLE AWARD. And they’ll hang a gold medal around my neck. And then they’ll take it back again, because I would wear it.
I still have a long, long way to go.
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