LETTING GO OF THE EGO

“LETTING GO OF THE EGO”

I CORINTHIANS 8:1-13

8:1 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.

It happens all the time. You have to make a decision and you find yourself being pulled in two different directions. It comes down to a choice between doing what’s best for you and what’s best for someone else.

The Apostle Paul had to make one of those decisions. Maybe it was an easy decision for him to make. I just hope I never have to do what he did. By the way, it’s right there in his letter to the Corinthians. Paul announced to the Corinthians that he wasn’t going to eat meat anymore. He was going to become a vegetarian.

We’ll get to why Paul made that decision in a minute. I just know that I could never do what he did. You see when it comes to vegetables I’m a lot like the little girl in the poem “Stone Cold Peas.” Have you ever heard the poem? It poem goes like this:

Oh Mama please! Don’t make me eat these stone-cold peas!

They’ve grown eyes and they’re lookin’ at me!

I love to eat strawberries, oranges, broccoli with cheese,

Apples and pears that hang on a tree,

Corn on the cob is really a treat; but peas on a plate are simply no fun to eat!

I’ve grown attached to these peas, sitting with them so long.

Would setting them free be so terribly wrong?

Just look at them now so green and so lowly,

As they quietly sit there and shrivel up slowly.

If you listen carefully you can hear their pleas,

“Peas, oh peas, please let us be frees!”

So, Mama, Mama all will be fine, if you don’t make me eat these friends of mine!

Paul announced to the Corinthians that he wasn’t going to eat meat anymore. Now he didn’t make that decision because his cholesterol was too high. He didn’t make that decision because he felt it was ethically wrong to eat another living thing. He didn’t make that decision because it was best for him. He made that decision because it was best for the people around him.

You see Paul was worried about the Christians in Corinth who were new to the faith. He was afraid they might be led astray if they saw him eating meat that had been sacrificed to one of the pagan gods. Paul knew that those pagan gods weren’t real, but some of the Christians in Corinth who were new to the faith didn’t know that yet. That’s why Paul did what he did. That’s why he boldly proclaimed: “if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat…” Paul probably liked a good filet mignon as much as the next guy, but he for the sake of his weaker sisters and brothers he told the Corinthians that from now on he was going to be a strictly tofu and bean sprouts kind of guy.

Believe it or not, Paul’s message to the Corinthians about doing what’s best for someone else is a message that needs to be hammered home today. That’s because we live in a “me first” society. We live in a society where it’s all about getting what you want. We live in a society where it’s all about looking out for #1. You see that attitude in the debate over taxes and gun control and affirmative action. You see it in the constant push to climb the ladder of success. You see it in the corporate greed that has landed some CEO’s in jail. You also see it in a lot of your day to day experiences. You see it when someone parks in a handicap space. You see it when a child gets into trouble at school and instead of disciplining their son or daughter the parents blame the teacher. I see it quite a bit when I go down to the Hornet’s Nest for a sandwich. People walk up to the counter and instead of saying, “Could I please have a steak bomb,” or “I’d like to order a ham and cheese sub,” what you often hear is, “Gim’me.” “Gim’me a steak and cheese with extra cheese.” That could be our national motto. “Gim’me, Gim’me, Gim’me.”

That “me first” attitude can be seen in the response that a minister got one day to a sermon that was a little different. The minister started off by putting four worms in four different jars. He put the first worm in a jar full of alcohol. He put the second worm in a jar full of cigarette smoke. He put the third worm in jar full of chocolate syrup and the fourth worm in a jar full of good clean soil. At the conclusion of the sermon the minister reported the results. The worm in the jar of alcohol was dead. The worm in the jar of cigarette smoke was also dead. The same thing was true for the worm in the jar full of chocolate syrup. The worm in the jar full of good clean soil, on the other hand, was doing just fine. “Now,” the minister said, “what does this little experiment teach us?” Immediately a little old lady in the back of the sanctuary hollered, “That’s easy. As long as you drink and smoke and eat lots of chocolate you won’t get worms!”

That little old lady didn’t want to be told not to drink or smoke or eat chocolate. Why? Because we live in a society where it’s all about getting and doing what you want.

The temptation to do what’s best for you is always there. At the same time the Apostle Paul will tell you that the ability to do what’s best for someone else is also there. Paul knew that the temptation to be selfish can be surpassed by the ability to be selfless. Paul did it when he announced to the Corinthians that he wasn’t going to eat meat any longer.

There are times when that’s what you have to do. You don’t do what’s best for you. Instead you do what’s best for someone else. Instead of going to the football game you help the elderly woman down the street who has no one to fix a broken window. Instead of working lots of extra hours so you can get a promotion, you go home and spend some time with your family. Or you see something happen that’s wrong and you decide to do something about it even though you know it’s going to make people very angry.

It should also be pointed out that sometimes doing what’s best for someone else doesn’t mean you give them something like money or time or help. It means you take something away from them. For example, when your teenage son or daughter gets into trouble you take away the keys to the car. You do that even though you know the teenager is going to hate you and will threaten never to speak to you again.

There are all kinds of situations where you have to decide if you’re going to do what’s best for you or what’s best for someone else. What you do, of course, is up to you. It’s really no different than the situation that a solider at Fort Bragg, North Carolina found himself in one day. It all started when a lieutenant decided to get a soda from a vending machine. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any change and this was back in the days when the machines didn’t take dollar bills. That didn’t stop the lieutenant though. He just turned to the private who was standing there and asked, “Do you have change for a dollar?” Glad to help out the private smiled and said, “I think so. Let me take a look.” “Soldier,” the lieutenant said indignantly, that’s no way to address a superior officer. So we’re going to do this again and this time I want you to do it right. Now! Do you have change for a dollar?” Immediately, the private came to attention, gave the lieutenant his best military salute and shouted, “Sir. No sir!”

God always let’s you decide. The final decision is always up to you. You can do what’s best for you or you can do what’s best for someone else. You can live your life so you’re a blessing to yourself and only yourself or you can live your life so you’re a blessing to others. If you live your life so you’re a blessing to yourself and only yourself, your days may be full of fun, fun, fun but you’ll go to bed at night with a soul that’s empty, empty, empty!

The next time you have to make one of those decisions remember what the Apostle Paul did. You might also want to remember something that a holy man by the name of Sadhu Sundar Singh did. Sadu Sundar Singh was a Sikh who converted and became a devout Christian. One day he and a friend were trudging through a pass high in the Himalayan Mountains. The wind and bitter cold made the journey difficult and painful. At one point they came upon a man lying in the snow unconscious. Sadu Sudar Singh wanted to help the man but his friend objected. “If we burden ourselves with him,” he complained, “we’ll all die.” Sadu Sudar Singh refused to continue on and leave the man in the snow to die. So his friend went on without him while Sadu Sudar Singh did his best to pick the man up and carry him on his back. It made the journey even more difficult, but eventually the heat from his body warmed the man up. After a while he regained consciousness and before long the two of them were walking together side by side. Eventually, they caught up to Sadu Sundar Singh’s friend who unfortunately was lying in the snow, dead and frozen from the bitter cold.

Because we have been created in the image of God we have the ability to do what’s best for others. When you do what’s best for someone else not only will you become a blessing to them, but you’ll end up being blessed yourself. Having said that, all I ask is that you don’t ask me to eat my vegetables. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

January 29, 2006