Reflections with Andy - 1 Corinthians 7: 17 – 24 – Today
Let’s not worry about this mythical unknown future where the grass is always green. Let’s be faithful today, where God has us planted
In today’s episode of Reflections with Andy, we reflect on 1 Corinthians 7:17–24, where Paul encourages believers to be faithful in the circumstances where God has placed them. Along the way, we address one of the Bible’s most challenging topics—slavery in the ancient world—and consider how the larger story of Scripture points toward freedom, dignity, and new life in Christ. Ultimately, this passage reminds us not to wait for some perfect future before living faithfully. God has given us today, and today’s faithfulness is where discipleship begins.
Join us for our daily reflections. In 10 short minutes, we’ll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help us better understand God’s Word.
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Good morning! It’s good to be with you on this Wednesday morning. I hope you’re doing well and that your week is off to a great start.
Things are rocking and rolling here in Starkville. We had a great crowd in worship on Sunday, and we’re looking forward to an even bigger crowd this coming Sunday. God is good, and God is on the move here at First United Methodist Church in Starkville. We’re grateful to be part of what He’s doing, and I hope that wherever you are, you’re experiencing God’s goodness in your own life as well.
Yesterday I was reading one of my daily devotionals—a reflection on The Rule of St. Benedict, the sixth-century monastic guide for Christian living. It talked about how easily we become so busy that we never quiet our minds enough to hear God’s still, small voice.
As summer begins to wind down—and I know some of you are already back in school or your kids are back in school—I hope you’ll find some space over the next few days to quiet your mind, to know yourself more honestly, and to hear God’s grace more clearly.
That reading stayed with me as I came to today’s passage.
There are really two things I want to talk about today.
First, I want to briefly address Paul’s comments about slavery because that’s a question many people have.
Then I want to spend most of our time on what I think is the heart of this passage: learning to be faithful where God has planted us.
A while back I was at a youth gathering here at church, and some of our students asked a really thoughtful question.
“What do we do with passages in the Bible that talk about slavery?”
That’s a good question.
Whenever we come to difficult passages in Scripture, it’s important to interpret them in light of the larger story of the Bible.
Yes, there are places in both the Old and New Testaments where slavery is treated as part of the social reality of the day.
But we also need to understand what slavery looked like in Paul’s world.
Roman slavery was very different from the race-based chattel slavery that existed in American history.
American slavery was a unique evil that continues to leave deep wounds in our nation.
Roman slavery, while still unjust, wasn’t based primarily on race, and it wasn’t uncommon for enslaved people to gain their freedom or even rise to positions of influence in Roman society.
That doesn’t make slavery good.
It simply helps us understand the world Paul was writing into.
Then we step back and ask, “What’s the larger story of Scripture?”
The defining story of the Old Testament is God freeing His people from slavery in Egypt.
Jesus begins His ministry by proclaiming freedom for the captives.
Paul later writes that in Christ there is “neither slave nor free... for all are one in Christ Jesus.”
The movement of Scripture is always toward freedom, dignity, and redemption.
So when we encounter difficult passages like this one, we read them through the larger story of God’s work in the world.
But I think Paul’s main point here isn’t actually slavery.
It’s faithfulness.
He says,
“Lead the life that the Lord has assigned to you, to which God called you.”
I’ve had mentors over the years who liked to say,
“Bloom where you’re planted.”
I’ve always loved that phrase.
So often we postpone contentment.
We tell ourselves,
“I’ll be happy when...”
When I graduate.
When I get married.
When I have children.
When I retire.
When I buy the next house.
When I get the promotion.
When my golf game improves.
When my team finally wins.
We’re always chasing some mythical future where everything will finally be right.
Paul says that’s not where faithfulness is found.
Faithfulness is found today.
Now, that doesn’t mean your circumstances can’t change.
Sometimes they should change.
Sometimes they will change.
But your joy and your purpose can’t be tied to some imaginary future version of your life.
Your calling is to be faithful right where you are.
So ask yourself:
How can I be faithful today?
Not tomorrow.
Not someday.
Today.
Serve the neighbor God has placed in front of you today.
Encourage someone today.
Pray today.
Tell your story today.
Show kindness to the cashier at Walmart today.
Forgive someone today.
Pray for those you love today.
Pray for your enemies today.
Live fully in the place where God has planted you today.
Because today is all we’ve really been promised.
None of us knows what tomorrow will bring.
There may be great joys ahead.
There may be great challenges.
But today is the gift God has placed in our hands.
I think back to my early years in ministry.
I remember thinking,
“If I ever pastored a church of one hundred people, I’d never have problems.”
Then I thought,
“If I ever pastored a church of one hundred fifty people...”
You know what I eventually learned?
Churches are churches.
People are people.
Every season has its own blessings and its own challenges.
The grass isn’t always greener somewhere else.
It’s just different grass.
Instead of dreaming about greener grass, maybe we ought to water the grass beneath our own feet.
Fertilize it.
Care for it.
Invest in it.
Bloom where God has planted you.
That’s where you’ll discover His faithfulness.
So today, don’t spend all your energy longing for some future version of your life.
Live faithfully today.
Trust that God has you where you need to be for this moment.
And trust that, in His time, He’ll lead you into whatever comes next.
Thanks for being with me today.
Tomorrow we’ll finish out the rest of 1 Corinthians 7. Paul still has plenty to teach us, and I’m looking forward to exploring it together.
Have a wonderful day, and I’ll see you tomorrow.