Day 17: 3:2-3

“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”


Do you want to be taken seriously as a young Christian leader? Than act like one.

Harsh, right? True, right?

The fact is, our influence is received in most part by how people perceive our walk with Christ. If you’re talking one thing and walking another, don’t expect people to knock you down in order to follow your leadership. It won’t happen.

In the case of these verses, Paul is addressing a common human problem that will sooner or later get its barbs in you: Jealousy and strife. The Corinthian church had a big problem: They had begun to confuse what was most important in the church. They began to divide into groups based on whose teaching they followed or who had baptized them. They were worshipping people instead of God. Because of this jealousy, they were fighting.

As a Christian leader, sooner or later you’re going to face a situation where people will want to worship you instead of God. It’s human nature. Sometimes we will be in that boat. When that happens, we have turned our backs on God and are worshipping His creation. Things will go downhill from there.

A Christian leader is marked by their ability to rise above the petty jealousy that marks so many people. It is one of the traits that makes us worth following. It is our duty and responsibility to not only keep out of jealousy, but keep those who we serve from becoming so attached to us that jealousies rise among them.

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: jealousy raises it’s head when we forget who we worship; when something besides God takes center stage in our lives. It is our duty and responsibility to keep jealousy from ourselves and purge it from those we serve.

Here’s a set of verses to meditate on Today: Luke 22:24-30

Prayer:

Father, please help me to keep you the center focus of my life. Help me not to get jealous, or promote jealousy by letting people worship me instead of you. Thank you for letting me lead your people. In Christ’s name, amen.