Faithful Over Flashy

Day 217: 1 Corinthians 1:18-30, 2:1-5

“He has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe.” - 1 Corinthians 1:21 NLT

It has been the desire of the church for the past 100 years to keep up with the “progress” that has happened in the culture around us. The industrial revolution paved the way for so many advances in technology and inundated us with more information than at any time in human history.

Yet the advantage of living in today’s world is that we can see in many ways we are no better off morally than we were 100 years ago. Racism. Hatred. Disregard for Jesus. Oppression of the weak. Disdain for authority. Progress hasn’t given us all that it promised. Our efficiency isn't making us any happier.

This is Paul’s refrain to the church in Corinth as we read this passage today. He didn’t come with manipulative speech or grandeur. He came with one anthem, “Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.” (2:2)

We will not be tapping into the power of God with new, flashy mediums to reach the masses.

The power is in Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, then resurrected. This is an old, foolish message to many in our world today, but as gospel artist Vashawn Mitchel sings it so well, "His blood still works." May we always choose faithful over flashy.

"Here he does not contrast trusting with working, but he emphasizes that salvation comes through believing what is proclaimed, even if the message heralded seems foolish to the hearers. The foolish message, which includes both form and content, is that salvation comes through Jesus the crucified one." - Schreiner, T. R. (2018). 1 Corinthians (E. J. Schnabel, Ed.; Vol. 7, p. 69)