1 Corinthian 13:1-3 (AMP)
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction]. And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.
In this passage, Paul is explaining to us that we should live a spirit-led life that compels others to want to live the same way. The presence of the Holy Spirit’s gifts is the highest expression of God’s presence in the life of a believer. The gifts are sent to help one another in the body of Christ. But let me ask you, what good are your gifts from God if they are not presented with love?
As Christians, we should be growing our faith and encouraging others in theirs, but that’s not what I’m seeing in today’s culture. Today’s culture is mocking that of which we see in Paul’s Corinth. In Corinth, they’re rude to each other. We see name calling, insults, cruelty, and debate for no purpose or benefit. This spreading infection is called incivility. Incivility is defined in the dictionary as “rude or unsociable speech or behavior.”
Much like in Corinth, our world is in jeopardy due to this incivility. Your faith in Christ might be able to withstand a hurricane, but there will be holes in the foundation caused by the termites of incivility eating away at it.
When Paul speaks, conversation in the city hushes. He explains that if the townspeople don’t express themselves with love, their words will be reduced to a hollow song of nothing. If they can’t relate to others and come together in God, their speech will amount to nothing.
We live in a world of demonizing descriptions and opinions that are encouraged by half truths. We’ve gotten to the point where when something good is done, it seems shaded and motivated by something darker. And I’m not just seeing this in our culture, I’m seeing it in the church. Our sharpness of tongue and inability to debate without using weapons of mass destruction has put us Christians on edge about everything. It’s human incivility.
We are better than this. We Christians are better than how we have been acting. Don’t let others make you sacrifice your civility. Don’t let culture make you act cruel, too. Don’t let the mean you see in the streets make you mean and cynical in the church. Just because you say you’re saved and anointed doesn’t mean you are. The proof is in how you treat others.
Don’t cave in to crushing incivility.
Many people believe that as the culture goes, so goes the church. I don’t believe that. I believe the church leads the culture. So therefore, as the church goes, so goes the culture. Don’t allow incivility to fatigue you and act in the same manner. You are God’s mouthpiece. You might have a natural inclination to be distrustful of people you meet on the street, but even though you are wired a certain way, recognize that you can be transformed by the Holy Spirit to act in a different way. Guard your tongue, mind your business, and be kind.
Don’t let the infection toxify your system. Don’t cave to incivility.
No matter how crazy this culture is in 2018, a revival is on the way. We can’t wait for culture to change; we have to be the ones to start the change. Don’t wait for someone else.
