Reflections with Andy - 1 Corinthians 6: 1-11 – Generosity and Grace
What if God were as generous with His grace as we were to others?
In today’s Reflection with Andy, we explore 1 Corinthians 6:1–11, where Paul challenges believers to handle conflict differently from the world around them. Rather than rushing to judgment or insisting on our rights, Paul calls Christians to pursue reconciliation, value relationships, and even risk being wronged for the sake of the gospel. Along the way, we wrestle with one of our deepest fears—being taken advantage of—and ask what it would look like to extend the same generous grace to others that God has so freely given to us.
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.
You can read today’s passage here.
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Good morning! It’s good to be with you on this Friday morning as we get ready for the weekend. I hope you’ve got some big plans.
I don’t think I do. Honestly, it’s just more unboxing. One day the boxes will end—but not today, and definitely not this weekend. The boxes are eternal. Someday Holly and I will be completely unpacked, but we’re not there yet.
So, if you’re in Starkville and you want to come help us unbox, come on! We’d love the company.
I’m also really proud of First United Methodist Church here in Starkville. I challenged the church to have 200 people in worship this past Sunday, and we ended up with almost 220. I’m excited about what God is doing here.
If you live anywhere in the Golden Triangle—Starkville, Columbus, West Point, Oktibbeha County, or anywhere nearby—we’d love for you to come worship with us. I’m excited about what God is doing in this church, and I’d love for you to be a part of it. Come see what God is doing in this special place.
Today we’re reading 1 Corinthians 6:1–11.
This passage is a lot like yesterday’s. Yesterday Paul addressed sexual immorality and sin so serious that it required accountability. Today he’s talking about something different: lawsuits between believers.
As always, it’s important to understand the context of what’s happening.
Scripture Reading
So this passage is about believers taking one another to court. In our world, the closest comparison would probably be civil court.
Paul asks, “Is there no one among you wise enough to settle these disputes?”
If you go back and read the Old Testament—Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy—you’ll see that God’s people always had judges. Moses appointed judges. The elders sat at the city gates and helped resolve disputes. Think about Solomon, famous for his wisdom in settling difficult cases.
So Paul isn’t saying Christians should never have someone arbitrate disagreements. Disagreements happen. People get hurt. Things aren’t always handled well.
What Paul is saying is that, as believers, our first instinct should be to work things out together.
Now, we live in a different world than Paul did. There are situations today where civil courts absolutely have their place, and sometimes they’re necessary. But I think Paul’s heart is still incredibly relevant.
As Christians, especially when dealing with one another, we should exhaust every opportunity to reconcile before we run to the courts. We should be able to navigate conflict through honest conversation, forgiveness, making things right, and restoring one another.
Sometimes that does require someone to step in as an arbiter.
I’ve had seasons in ministry where conflict became so severe that I had to help people work through it. Not literally sitting between them all the time, but helping each side hear the other.
“Here’s what I hear you saying.”
“Here’s what I hear them saying.”
Often people simply stop listening to each other. Helping them hear one another can make all the difference.
Paul says, “I’m saying this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to help?”
Then Paul shifts, as he often does, into one of his lists of behaviors that are inconsistent with the kingdom of God.
And I always smile a little when Paul does this.
He talks about fornicators, idolaters, thieves, drunkards...
Everybody says, “Yeah! Get ‘em, Lord!”
Then Paul slips in “the greedy.”
That one gets a little closer to home.
What if we really believed greed kept people from inheriting the kingdom of God?
Or idolatry?
We say, “Well, I don’t have any idols.”
Maybe not a statue.
But what do you trust more than God? What do you look to for your security besides God?
Paul sets a very high bar.
But then he reminds them:
“And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
I love that.
The old saying goes, “The Lord accepts us just as we are, but He doesn’t leave us just as we are.”
As Methodists—especially as Wesleyans—we call that sanctification.
We’re called to keep growing.
I want to be more faithful tomorrow than I am today.
I want to love better tomorrow than I love today.
I want every day to become just a little more like Christ.
That’s what Paul is talking about.
But I want to end with something that grabs me every single time I read this passage.
Paul writes:
“Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?”
That’s a hard question.
I’ve said before that one of the greatest fears many of us have—especially those of us who have worked hard for what we have—is being taken advantage of.
It’s why we’re sometimes hesitant to be generous.
“What if they spend the money on drugs?”
“What if they buy alcohol?”
“What if they waste it?”
We’re afraid someone will misuse our generosity.
But Paul asks a different question.
“Wouldn’t you rather be wronged?”
Most of us would answer, “No.”
I don’t want to be wronged.
I don’t want to be defrauded.
But my mom used to say, “They can live with it. I can live without it.”
What someone chooses to do with the generosity I show them is between them and the Lord.
My responsibility is to be generous.
Their response is their responsibility.
Paul is calling Christians to put other people before ourselves.
I want to advocate for you before I advocate for me.
I want to make sure you have what you need.
I want to value you.
I want to love you the way I love myself.
That’s what Paul is pushing us toward.
People will disappoint us.
People will sometimes take advantage of us.
People will wrong us.
But we still work to preserve relationships.
We still choose generosity.
We still choose grace.
And here’s the question that always humbles me.
What if God were as stingy with His grace toward me as I sometimes am with my generosity toward others?
What if God said,
“You know, every time I forgive Andy, he sins again. He keeps taking advantage of My grace. I’m just not going to forgive him this time.”
Where would I be?
It’s not up to me to control how someone uses what I give.
It’s only up to me to decide whether I’ll be generous in the first place.
That’s something we all have to wrestle with, pray about, and continue growing in.
As Christians, we should be among the most generous people in the world.
Thanks for being with us today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
If you’re anywhere near Starkville, come worship with us this Sunday at First United Methodist Church. We’d love to have you.
Have a great day, and I’ll see you next time.