A Serious Situation

Readings:
Job 7
I Corinthians 5

Focus:
I Corinthians 5:2a: "And you are proud of yourselves! You ought to have gone into mourning."

Paul has been writing to the Christians at Corinth, who have been having some behavior problems, and who have been exhibiting some attitude problems as well. He points out a flagrant misbehavior that has been going on among them by two of their members and which they have been tolerating.

What Paul says about this is striking. He says that they ought to have gone into mourning.

We often forget the serious nature of sin. When we sin--and it does not have to be sexual sin only, as it was in this case--we have offended against God himself. We have rebelled against God, and have in essence slapped God in the face, saying that we want to do what we want to do, and we don't care what God wants.

When we behave like that, or when those in our close community behave like that, it is so serious that we ought to go into mourning until we are sorry. Our attitude needs to be different. This is not just to shame us, but it is for our own good. When we, or our brothers and sisters, have thumbed our noses at the God of the universe, we, or they, are in a perilous situation. It takes mourning to bring us back!

That's how serious it is.