A Sunday school teacher once told us that college would be a special time: “You will never again have so much freedom and so little responsibility.” He explained that we would have so few hours in class and so much free time to play or study or work or whatever. He added: “Use your timeContinue reading “COLLEGE STUDENTS: There Will Never Be Another Time Like This. 1 Corinthians 7:32-34.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
Are You Strong Enough to Be Weak? 1 Corinthians 9:19-22.
Are you fiercely independent? Are you strong and strong-willed? Do you insist on doing your own thing—on being “true to yourself” no matter what? There may be a place for such traits, particularly among those who have suffered bullying, abuse, and shame. When others have destroyed your dignity and self-worth, you may find your self-esteemContinue reading “Are You Strong Enough to Be Weak? 1 Corinthians 9:19-22.”
How Do You See Yourself? 1 Corinthians 7:17.
Most of us take our cues from our friends—if they think you’re special, then you think so too. If they tell you you’re mean, or selfish, or too sensitive, then you will begin to agree. And if they see you as someone else’s “better half,” then that will be what matters to you. But theContinue reading “How Do You See Yourself? 1 Corinthians 7:17.”
GLUTTONY: AMERICA’S PET SIN. 1 Corinthians 9:27.
My mother once told me she was addicted to sugar. She liked hard candy and kept ice cream around. But addicted? I had to realize even thin people struggle with gluttony. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but I will not be MASTERED by anything”Continue reading “GLUTTONY: AMERICA’S PET SIN. 1 Corinthians 9:27.”
IS THERE A BEST TIME TO BE DEVOTED TO CHRIST? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:32-34.
Is there a time of “peak performance” in your spiritual life? Everyone knows peak performance in sports happens while you are young—early teens for female gymnasts, to 20s for runners and tennis players, and perhaps 20s and 30s for baseball and football players. The peak time for academic achievement is college and grad-school years. IContinue reading “IS THERE A BEST TIME TO BE DEVOTED TO CHRIST? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:32-34.”
Prohibition and Meat Sacrificed to Idols. 1 Corinthians 8:7-13.
Pictured–the “21st Amendment,” a bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter celebrating a unique bit of legislation. I did not go inside. Have you ever eaten meat from an animal that was sacrificed to an idol? Probably not. Have you ever been seen “dining in an idol’s temple” (1 Corinthians 8:10)? Doubtful. In fact, the entireContinue reading “Prohibition and Meat Sacrificed to Idols. 1 Corinthians 8:7-13.”
OBJECTION! Calls for Speculation! 1 Corinthians 2:11.
Even before law school, I had a favorite objection: OBJECTION. CALLS FOR SPECULATION. This is what a lawyer says if opposing counsel asks his witness to ‘speculate’ on facts that are unknown or unknowable. The objection applies particularly well to questions about what another person might have been thinking. Consider these objectionable questions: “What wasContinue reading “OBJECTION! Calls for Speculation! 1 Corinthians 2:11.”
BABY FOOD. 1 Corinthians 3:2
1 Corinthians 3:2 compares spiritual teaching to baby food: Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk,Continue reading “BABY FOOD. 1 Corinthians 3:2”
JESUS MADE HUMILITY A VIRTUE. 1 Corinthians 4:7.
Do you think everyone has gifts and talents? Is everyone a genius? No. Some enter life saddled with heavy burdens and no strength to lift them. Life is not fair. And yet, God often touches the “least of these” in ways the rest of us can only admire. In God’s Kingdom, you will hear theContinue reading “JESUS MADE HUMILITY A VIRTUE. 1 Corinthians 4:7.”
INSPIRED BY SACRIFICE. 1 Corinthians 1:18,27.
Are you inspired by sacrifice? By soldiers who die for their country? By athletes who gut it out? By people who fast for enlightenment? These are great things; they should inspire. But sacrifices mean nothing until you accept the sacrifice of Jesus. Growing up in Manhattan in the 1950s, my uncle Bill was inspired byContinue reading “INSPIRED BY SACRIFICE. 1 Corinthians 1:18,27.”
Household Words: 