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.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
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.”
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love, But They’ll Know We Are Mature by Our Unity. 1 Corinthians 3:3.
Imagine the unity of being a new Christian in the early church. You and your friends witnessed the life and death of the long-awaited Messiah. You heard Jesus pray that you would all be one, see John 17:21. Talk about a ‘Shared Cultural Moment’![1] You were a witness to the crucifixion and resurrection—or at leastContinue reading “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love, But They’ll Know We Are Mature by Our Unity. 1 Corinthians 3:3.”
FAHRENHEIT 451. Acts 19:19.
What do you think of book burning? Heating printed pages to 451 degrees Farenheit? Most Americans are against it—and against censorship of any kind. But believe it or not, some great legal minds have advanced arguments in FAVOR of censorship. In fact, we ALREADY censor child pornography. Some argue we should censor all pornography (asContinue reading “FAHRENHEIT 451. Acts 19:19.”
One Reason to Ignore the Ratings System. Acts 19:19.
When I was a kid, I imagined that the day I turned 13, my parents would rush me off to a PG-13 movie. And four years later, on my 17th birthday, I’d go out and watch all the R-rated movies I could afford. It was as if there were something magical about the ratings andContinue reading “One Reason to Ignore the Ratings System. Acts 19:19.”
Household Words: 