Message given at Grace Church, Moloka'i 1 February 2009

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I see a lot of you looking at your watches. Don't worry; the game doesn't start until 1 pm! Still, I'm certain there are barbecues firing up right now all across America for the Big Game..
I love steak. I really do, especially pulehu. Barbecued meat - I love the smell as it's turned over the fire, I love the taste, and I love that it's usually someone else who's cooking it!
Our section of 1st Corinthians reminds me of pulehu meat.

1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3 but anyone who loves God is known by him.
4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "no idol in the world really exists," and that "there is no God but one." 5 Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-as in fact there are many gods and many lords- 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 "Food will not bring us close to God." We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

Now meat sacrificed to idols isn't a problem for us in 21st century USA. But it was for the Christians in the city of Corinth. Corinth was a town with a large pagan temple. It was common knowledge that in Corinth most of the meat available for purchase had at one time been part of pagan sacrifices. Meat was often burnt as an offering to various idols: a chunk was then taken by the priests for their meals; some was given to public officials as part of their salaries; and the rest of the meat was sold to the markets for general sale. Now that posed a problem. If you wanted to buy meat, you were kind of stuck eating food that had been dedicated to a foreign god. So Paul is using their knowledge about something concrete that they see and smell and taste to make a few points. First, there is really only one God. And second, as long as you're not worshiping the idol, feel free to break out the Hawaiian salt and grind. Third, if it bothers you that this was offered, feel free not to eat. And finally, if this knowledge leads to infighting within the Body of Christ, Paul would choose loving his brothers over his understanding and go for the salad instead of the ribs. Today I want to concentrate on that last point.

"Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.."

For myself this really could have been my life verse! I thought I was so smart growing up. I got all A's and was "teacher's pet" in all my classes, so unfortunately I was encouraged to pursue knowledge. I had no patience with those who weren't as quick as I was. I was a bossy little thing because I thought I was always right. I'm ashamed to say that continued into adulthood.

Even though I was teacher's pet I still felt empty because my knowledge didn't help me to know God. After my dad died I read all of the books in our vicar's study and I felt no closer to understanding what happened. So he told me that I should go to seminary to find out who God is. As I've grown I've noticed that some of the people with the most knowledge, and the most degrees on their walls are the unhappiest. Knowledge that does not lead us closer to the Lord may make us smarter but it doesn't strengthen our character. It does not fill the empty places where we feel lonely, and it does not mend a broken heart. Only love can build us up. And only God's love can put us together in a way so that we can help shape others with His love. God has designed us so that as we share love we're built up in love.

I've known people who wouldn't be considered the sharpest knife in the drawer but they were so filled with God's love that they're exceedingly happy because they share His love wherever they go. The knowledge they have is used to bring them closer to God and that helps others get the onos for God's grace and love.

Please don't misunderstand me. This is not an anti-intellectual message. I want to be clear: if you're given a choice between knowledge and love, choose love every time. Knowledge can make us sharper. But often people use that sharpness, their knowledge, to cut other people down. So when you seek knowledge, be careful that you seek things that will build up - not so you can cut others down to your size, but to edify. For the skill lies not in the sharpness of the knife, but in the hand of the Master who wants to use that knife. God can take a sharp knife and carve a roast, frost a cake or make an incision that can save the life of a little baby girl in childbirth. So take all of your knowledge and commit it to the hand of God to use as a loving tool.

On Thursday at 2:30am in Honolulu Masi called us to come to the hospital. 'Uilani had been in labor at Queens and they'd just been told she had to be prepared for an emergency c-section. We raced over. And I have to admit - I have never been so fearful in all my life. I had far too much knowledge about all the things that could go wrong for both 'Ui and Lehiwa - the mom and the baby. I was terrified. Now I also know "Do not be anxious about anything but in everything with prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." So although we've practically been ordered not to be anxious as believers, here I was overwhelmed with anxiety. I started praying. When we got into the room the ob/gyn and nurse were standing at her monitor watching the contractions and their effects on the baby. She told us that the baby had calmed and that the labor was progressing, so we'd wait another hour - she knew how much 'Uilani wanted to deliver this baby naturally. The doctor inserted another monitor onto baby's head and kept watching. At the end of the hour it was obvious she had to have a c-section. So as they wheeled her into labor and delivery, Scotty and I rushed to the airport to change our 5am flight back to MKK to later in the day. As we sat in the parking lot waiting for Island Air to open, a flock of sparrows were somehow startled and flew in front of the car - there were about a thousand of them. They flew up, over and around the terminal and came back to rest at the car. I knew instantly that 'Ui and the baby would be OK. How did I know that? Not from some classes I took, but from Psalms 84:3 which says "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God"

Let's go back to our reading and take a picture of two members of the Corinthian church. They are arguing about whether some meat is edible and some is not. Imagine also standing next to them someone who hasn't eaten in days. That person really doesn't care whether the meat is smoked, salted or transubstantiated. They just know they're hungry. As these Corinthians argue, the person next to them slowly starves too death. Ouch! Too often we in the Body of Christ are like the Corinthians who argue over doctrine while people all around us are starving for the love of God. The purpose of knowledge is to lead us to a deeper awe and admiration of the Lord so that we can experience His love in worship and feed some of that love to the hungry men and women surrounding us. The fear of the Lord is not only the beginning of wisdom, but also the first step in knowing God and distributing His love to a hungry world.

Knowledge, Paul says, puffs up - makes you feel pretty special, makes you feel maybe better than somebody else. Albert Einstein, a pretty smart guy himself, said: "Any fool can know. The point is to understand." Just because you know something, doesn't mean you really understand it or put it into practice.

The principles and guidelines given to us in Scripture are all designed to work in real life. They're not just some theological or philosophical discussions. They're given for our benefit and for our usage. What we know and what we believe isn't any good until we can apply it, with love, in real life.

So many people have knowledge about God and about the Bible but they don't know Him. Our psalm today ends with an echo of Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

The ability to quote Bible verses and recite Bible facts is not as important as taking biblical principles and applying them, in love, to our jobs, our families, our friends, and our entire existence. Everything we know about God is only important when it can be lived out in knowing Him more in everyday situations. All our actions should be colored by our fear of the LORD, of understanding His love, His sacrifice for us on the cross, and then practicing that on the world around us.

Paul declares that there is only one Lord, one King of kings and Lord of Lords and that is Jesus Christ. Some years back, the initials WWJD became popular across America. People wore WWJD bracelets and necklaces like they wear a cross. As Christians, "What would Jesus do?" should be a question we ask ourselves all the time. Or maybe we could ask, HWJL, "How Would Jesus Love" in this situation?

Paul is telling us in this passage that when situations arise where there is no clear-cut "Thus saith the Lord" that we should operate out of the principle of love. A bit later, in the 13th chapter, Paul writes these words, "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."

Jesus told us that the two greatest commandments were to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The principle of how to love our neighbor in practical ways has stumped followers of Jesus from day 1. To help me decide, How Would Jesus Love, I use two basic questions: (1) Will what I want to do help to build up or will it be used to cut down? (2) Will I be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block to someone else?

One of the greatest joys we can experience is when we take our freedom in Christ to give up what we want to do and step out in love so that someone else can receive what they need. I'll have to admit - this is still hard for me to personally, especially if I'm tired or exasperated or upset. But if at that moment I can't give up what I want, I'm not free -- I'm trapped by what I want.

But Jesus wasn't trapped. His life demonstrated how strong His love is. Isn't that what Jesus did when He paid for our sins with His life? We have been shown in scripture that He didn't want to get nailed to the cross. He prayed in the garden to ask if there was any way He could get out of it. But it also shows us His next step, when He gave us His greatest gift of love with these words, "Not my will but your will be done." His faithful love, nailed our sins to the cross so that we could have new life, true freedom.

The Bible also reminds us in many verses that joy can be found by building up in love and helping serve. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says, "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

Philippians 2:3, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider other better than yourselves."

And there's gem hidden in our reading today in verse 3. "anyone who loves God is known by him." If we use the knowledge & wisdom that He has given us to build up others in love, then we will find ourselves being surrounded by His love as we grow closer and closer to Him.

Since it is the day of the Big Game, I thought I would end with a football example. Now it's the last minute of the Super Bowl. A player makes a spectacular catch and dives into the end zone to win the game. He runs to the camera and waves and says, "Hi mom!" or "Hi dad!" Imagine if the most famous football player in the world was to look into the camera, wave, and then say your name. You would be so proud; you'd feel a thousand feet tall. Now imagine that the Maker of the Universe was in the middle of the biggest game He ever played. It's the last minute and as time is running out, we find Jesus hanging from His hands and feet on a wooden cross. Just as you think all is lost He looks up and said, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing." You think the game is over. You hang your head and think that all is lost. But there is still time for one more play. And when the stone is rolled away, there is no body in the tomb. Jesus has risen! Sin and death have been conquered! The King has won! Then, the risen Son of God looks across the field and sees your face. And He waves and says, "I would have done this just for you." God knows you. And when we live by asking, "How Would Jesus Love?" every day can be a super bowl party. Amen? Amen.

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