Mere Men

Today in the Verve Bible reading plan our chapter was 1 Corinthians 3. There’s a question in that chapter that has always exploded off the page for me.  In verse 3: “Are you not acting like mere men?”

We live in an age of tolerance and forgiveness, and those are generally really good things. We don’t judge and we don’t condemn, and those are generally really good things. The problem is that all leads us to drop our standards to just about nothing. We have no expectations and no accountability.

And so how do we think Christians should act? Well, try to be a little better than the rest of everybody else. But if you fail at that, well, you are just human. Put a bumper sticker on your car that says you’re not perfect, just forgiven.

It all sounds good. It just doesn’t sound Biblical. The Bible says that when we truly say yes to Jesus we receive the Spirit of God. “Just human” is no longer true, and no longer an excuse. We can rise above living like a “mere man” or “mere woman.” We are capable of greatness – in our character and purity, in our service and impact on the world. Not because we’re great, but because we’re connected to a great God. 

So be loving and gracious about it, but raise the expectations and accountability for yourself, and for me. We’re not mere men.