Personality or Precept?

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1 Corinthians 3:1
Don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For
everything belongs to you . . . and you belong to Christ, and
Christ belongs to God (vv.21-23).

Twitter. Facebook. Podcasts. In mere seconds, we
can receive biblical truths from around the globe.
We can worship with our favorite worship bands
and gain insight into life’s toughest problems from the
latest speakers and writers. Never has the Word been
so accessible at any given moment. While this level
of information offers ever-expanding opportunities for
spiritual growth, our hope does not rest in technology or
the words of man, but in the living Word.

I understand the seeming hypocrisy in my words. In
no way do I intend to diminish the power of sharing our
struggles, thoughts, or victories throughout our Christian
journey. Furthermore, technology can be a powerful
tool in that process. However, as the church, we need to
challenge one another to make sure our eyes are on the
Source and not the messengers.

In admonishing the Corinthian church, the apostle
Paul pointed out the areas where we must stay focused
in learning from those around us: Our maturity should
not be determined by the people we know or profess to
follow, but by the evidence of the Word becoming active
in our lives (1 Corinthians 3:2-3); God is the author and
finisher of our faith; we are the vessels through which
God works (vv.6-9). God, not man, defines what is
eternal and worthy of preservation. So our efforts should
be for His glory and not for our own (vv.11-15).

The way to live out these truths is not to isolate ourselves from others’ ideas
(Proverbs 18:1-2). God’s Word even tells us to follow the positive examples of
other believers in our pursuit of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:15-16). But most of all, we
need to remember that “Christ in [us], the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27 NIV) is
the light the world so desperately needs.

—Regina Franklin

more›
Read Acts 17:10 to see the relationship between the teaching of
others and our own study.

next›
How have you struggled with more time spent reading other books than
reading God’s Word? How can we balance the biblical insights we gain
from others with our own study of the Scriptures?