A QUALITY TO-DO LIST
1 CORINTHIANS 16:13-14 NKJV
13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.
Being a person who likes lists, these verses appeal to me. Lists are specific. Lists let me know what I need to do and what I may have left undone. I must admit, I start most of my days with some form of list.
But admittedly, my lists are to-do lists. Things that I can accomplish and check off. Our verses for today make up a to-do list. And this one is never completed but should move forward to the next day. And the next and the next.
Watch. Paul is admonishing the church to be alert spiritually. The Corinthian church most likely existed in a more church hostile environment than what we have today. And their environment was pretty wild. We have already written about what a sexually charged city ancient Corinth was. So the believers there needed to stay sharp and alert spiritually.
Stand fast in the faith. Keep believing. Keep exercising your faith. Don’t back up. Don’t go back to the old ways. Stay on track with the Lord. Don’t take the easy path.
Be brave. I spoke to this verse on Father’s Day. The literal Greek of this, be brave, is rendered act like men. It was a military exhortation to fight like men. Regardless of what progressive culture declares, wars and battles have been fought predominantly by men. This is not a function of society; this is a function of how God created mankind. God made them male and female, and there are differences. Obviously, characteristics can vary from person to person, but trying to make everyone the same is against God’s plan and only causes confusion. Bravery in the face of adversity is not gender specific, but we do expect men to show courage.
Be strong. Strong in the Lord. Strong in the grace that’s in Christ Jesus. Strong in what you believe. Strong in holding onto your spiritually accurate convictions. Strong in advancing the work of the Lord. The scriptures never encourage anyone to be weak and fearful.
And the antidote for toxic masculinity, if there is such a thing, is found in verse 14. Let all you do be done in love. This love is the agape God-kind of divine love. This is the kind of love that is unselfish and giving. And if being brave and strong leads to aggressive, obnoxious behavior, this love, which is on the list, tempers those actions.
APPLICATION:
What if we added this list to our to-do list for an entire month? What do you think would happen if every time we looked at our list, we saw watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave and strong, and let everything be done in love? What if we endeavored to actually check off these items?
I am going to give it a shot. Want to join me? What have we got to lose? This is a quality to-do list!
PRAYER:
Lord, help me to live this list out. Show me how to grow and develop in each area - that You may be honored in my life.