All Turned Around

The message today is "You be you." The message is "You are somebody." The message is "Don't let anyone stand in the way of your dream." Why? Because, we tell ourselves, "I am enough. I'm good enough and I'm strong enough and people like me." That's the message.

It's disconcerting, then, to see what Paul says.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Cor 1:26-29)

He said what?! Just when we thought we were enough, we are assured that we are "not many wise ... not many powerful, not many noble." No, we qualify as "what is foolish" and "what is weak" and "the low." Nice. Oh, "so that no human being might boast"? Yeah, clearly. Faced with God's perspective, we limp back to our own corners.

And then ...

... Scripture speaks again. God has chosen to use these. He has assigned us tasks. And we do them. But "neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God gives the growth." (1 Cor 3:7). Paul says, "According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation" (1 Cor 3:10) followed immediately with "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 3:11) Paul's task was to do his best at something that Christ did. Like us -- the foolish, the weak, the low -- he was assigned a task which God did (1 Cor 3:7). And ... get this ... in doing so there is reward (1 Cor 3:14).

God chooses those who cannot do in order to empower them to do and then reward them for having done. He chooses the weak so that none may boast, "and because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption," (1 Cor 1:30) so that "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." (1 Cor 1:31). We boast in the Lord because we are weak and He rewards because we were usable. We were turned away from "I'm enough" and turned to "not wise" and then turned away from "useless" and rewarded by God for being used by God. All turned around.