August 20, 2007
Consumer Mentality
READ: 1 Corinthians 3:5-15
If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. —1 Corinthians 3:14
I like to read, and I enjoy buying books. But I don’t like it when publishers refer to me as a “consumer.” The word consume can mean “do away with completely” or “spend wastefully.” It brings to mind forest fires that devour acre after acre of vegetation, leaving behind only scorched remnants of trees and homes. When we read books, we don’t consume them in that sense, for they don’t cease to exist after we’ve used them. In fact, quite the opposite is true. They become a part of us; they change us.
This is especially true of the Bible. When the words of Scripture remain in us, they keep us from taking the destructive way of sin (Ps. 119:11). Jesus said that when His words abide in us, we will bear much fruit (John 15:5-8). In other words, we will be creators, not consumers; givers, not takers.
The apostle Paul referred to Christians as “God’s fellow workers” (1 Cor. 3:9), who are to build things that cannot be consumed in the fire of God’s judgment of their works (vv.13-15). Later he urged readers to excel in gifts that build up the church (14:12).
As Christians, let’s be known not for the goods we consume but for the good fruit we produce.
Why does God give us spiritual gifts? (Eph. 4:11-13).
On what are we to build our works? (1 Cor. 3:10-11).
What is the result of work that will last? (1 Cor. 3:14).
