7-8 For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you! (1 Corinthians 4:7-8, The Message)
The phrase that catches my eye in this section of 1 Corinthians 4 in Paul’s summary is amazing. First he encourages the Corinthians to be united and not to be jealous of each other or form cliques based on who is their favorite evangelist. We might apply that to our loyalties during this political season and if our allegiances create divisions with our friends. Then Paul claims that comparing and competing is pointless because we “already have all we need.” Full stop. Do you have all you need or are you chasing that one more dollar that might bring happiness? Do we live with a kind of survival mentality or are we characterized by a sufficient mentality? Not only are all of us building our faith on the foundation of Jesus, we also all have direct access to God Almighty. He tells those early Christians that we being persecuted, dying on the cross, and loosing their lives, that they “are sitting on top of the world.”
I am visiting my daughter in Canada. She is baby sitting a nice suburban home simply and tastefully furnished. Her friend was headed on vacation and my daughter is babysitting the dog but the home allows for beds for her and me as her own apartment has only one bedroom. That apartment too is very sufficient for her lifestyle. Over the weekend we visited a farm house setting where she preached today. That house was very different and very sufficient for its owners and setting. We compare and contrast but we do not understand the values of the heart of others. Only God knows our hearts.
The paragraph ends by saying we are sitting on top of the world and God is sitting with us! We are not sitting on a tack. We are sitting on the top of the world with God listening, on top of our world. Lord, help me see and understand my life with your perspective and help me remember that you are sitting beside me, listening and caring. Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 